RWBY Melting Pot
by rwby1989
Summary: List of ideas for possible stories in the future. Mostly Jaune-centric, but will occasionally show others as the main characters and possible OC in the future. Rated T for possible language and general violence. If you have any ideas wanting to be posted, PM or comment (within reason).
1. Introduction

**Welcome to RWBY Melting Pot!**

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Hello there, this is rwby1989. I am a first time author of this website and I have been reading some of the stories written here. I have inspired to come up with some of my own but I am not sure how they would fare against some of the more creative and downright awesome writers out there. Which is why I have created this to showcase some of the ideas in my mind.

Here is the basis of this storybook if you would. I will be drafting out ideas that would be spanning from cannon to different Alternative Universes, and they would mostly be Jaune-centric. There are some ideas I have in mind that would be featuring others as the main characters, but as stated they will be featuring mostly Jaune as the main guy. If you guys out there have ideas, you may drop a comment or a message and I would see if it is possible to make it a reality.

As for writing the ideas into stories themselves, here is the deal. I can write some on my own and I am open to people who would want to adopt the ideas I have and make them into full-fledged stories, so if anyone wishes to adopt them, they just need to drop a message in the inbox and depending on the number of requests, I would give the idea out to the one most suited for it. I will then write on the top of the page that the story is adopted.

Before continuing on, I will make this very clear to anyone who wish to have an idea given to me. I have guidelines to follow and I would like you guys to respect that. These guidelines are as such:

1) **No Yaoi / Yuri requests** \- Seriously, I get we have pairings like Bumblebee, White Rose and stuff, but I won't be writing those please.

2) **No Betrayal / Hate fics** \- I am referring to those Jaune / Ruby betrayal fics where everyone wants to make their lives miserable and kills them or something. I do not do this at all.

3) **No smut -** We have regulations for reasons. If you guys seriously want this, I _might_ make a separate storybook for mature reading. Else this stays clean.

4) **No hardcore gore / violence** \- Again with regulations. I will fit in enough action while trying to control the violence level.

If that is understood, we can now commence with the story ideas! Onward HOH!


	2. Beacon's Outer Levels

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

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 **Date Published:** 25th June 2017

 **Title:** Beacon's Outer Levels (Working Title)

 **Genre:** Modern / Fantasy AU

 **Description:**

 _Jaune is an ordinary guy living with a normal, albeit large, family in a normal town and studying at a normal university with his childhood friends and neighbor. But not all is what it seems as he would find out when he gets thrust into a situation that takes him out of his comfort zone._

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Jaune whistled a tune from his childhood days as he walked through the gates of Beacon University and along the paved pathways of the small garden that was part of the front yard. It was a slightly cloudy day but there was no danger of rain and there was a nice breeze in the area that made Jaune glad that there were no classes for the first half of the day. He paused midway to look at the statue of one of the founders of Beacon University, the visage of a man in a suit that some from his extensive family joked was one of their ancestors, something Jaune was inclined to agree due to the rather flamboyant hairstyle and the chin that belonged to his grandfather.

Jaune still had a hard time believing that he was able to make it into the academy despite being there for a couple of months now. Beacon University was the most prestigious academy in the entirety of Vale, and also one of the most expensive that had a regime of entrance exams and qualifications to get through, so it was a shock to him when the silver-haired headmaster came to his door and offered him and his two childhood friends Ren and Nora an opportunity to come to his academy.

It took 3 months of solid studying, many sleepless nights, lots of caffeine and 3 part-time jobs, but they worked it through sheer will to get in together. When their letters came, it was almost nerve-wrecking for the three of them. Even the ever cheerful Nora was not running her mouth off at 100 miles per hour and was standing unnaturally still while holding her letter. With a deep breath, they opened their letters as one and looked at the results.

Pandemonium ensued of the good sort in the household of the Arc Family.

His mother and the eldest sister pulled out all the stops to create a feast to feed the entire family which included his grandparents and distant relatives that his father called to celebrate their entry. There was lots of alcohol, lots of tears, lots of punches that came from some of the more drunk members of the group, but it was all good. And thus two weeks later, the three of them entered the Beacon Academy with heads held high and big smiles.

"Jaune!" A calling of his name broke his thoughts and he turned to find a crimson-haired girl dressed in plain clothes waving at him with a big smile on her face. He returned it with one of his own. "Pyrrha, you are up early."

"Says you, you are way earlier than me." The girl beamed as she lightly punched him on the shoulder, her smile instantly making him feel a lot happier.

Pyrrha Nikos, a girl who came into town with her mother around the time before he was studying for the exams and became his neighbour, and one he admittedly was a little attracted to due to her beauty, something that was inherited from her mother who could passed off as her elder sister of a few years. She was invited to Beacon Academy as well and was given a scholarship to enter due to her various achievements in sports and academics from her previous schools, and it showed when she became an instant hit with the students around them, becoming one of the most popular in the academy.

But it was not the fame, the money or her looks that got them together. At that time, he and the family went to help her move in with the furniture and settle down. He recalled seeing her looking depressed at times, not to mention the fake smile she had to put up when some of the teenagers in the area come over to try and associate with her for her money or looks.

So he went straight up to her and talked in a manner that would likely earn some slaps from his sisters, glares from some of the more hormonal males of the neighbourhood and a few laughs from his father and uncle, while shooing away her would-be fans and stalkers. Blunt and honest to a fault without knowing anything about her achievements.

It was due to that she opened up to him and they became close friends. It was also because of his manner of approaching her that he got to see a genuine smile that made his heart stop for a few seconds from the sheer beauty that radiated from her, something that Nora and Ren teased him with. And thus cementing their relationship and bringing her and her mother into the madness of the Arc family.

Although there were times when his twin sister would glare at Pyrrha while they were both grabbing his arms, occasionally and much to his embarrassment, they would pin them to their admittedly endowed chests, and there were the awkward moments where Jaune had to suppress his hormones whenever he visited Pyrrha's mother who seemed to wear clothes that was both clean yet form-fitting to show off her curves and her considerable assets that were bigger than Pyrrha's. Oddly enough she only ever wore those type of clothes when he visited the household alone, other times her clothes were more modest, conservative and loose to hide her figure.

Weird now that he thought about it.

"So Jaune, what brings you here?" Pyrrha thankfully interrupted his thoughts about her mother before they strayed to more dangerous territory.

"Just thought of coming in early, deal with some of the work before the classes start. How about you?"

"Same, though I also had to deal with early practice for the javelin class." Pyrrha spoke as they started walking to the campus. "The regional tournament is coming up and my coach really wants to get a gold this year round."

"If I recalled this is his last year?"

"Second last, but he may not have the opportunity to grab the gold medal." Pyrrha answered his question while placing a finger on her chin. "It would seem that he has a bit of rivalry with Professor Lionheart of Haven Academy, something about wiping that smug look off his face?"

"Ah, that I know." Jaune recalled seeing a picture of the dirty blonde man who was featured in the academy's magazine. He had a look that his uncle described as 'one that demands to have a fist introduced intimately to it', and to a degree he agreed, feeling an abnormal urge to want to knock him down for some reason.

"Well with that, everyone from the team is going all out and since I am the ranking player, I am competing in some of the hardest areas of the competition." Pyrrha looked both embarrassed and slightly off-key as she said that. Jaune knew that she was not comfortable admitting that she was a cut above the rest. She wanted to be treated normally and have close friends who were not attracted to her money, fame or looks.

Time for the lessons from his uncle, bribery through food.

"Well then, I will need to brush up my skills in order to prepare that celebratory chocolate cake once you get in." Jaune smiled at the almost childish light in her eyes at the mention of her favourite treat, something that was sure to drive her to winning anything.

"Okay, I will definitely be going all out. That cake is mine~" Pyrrha said that last bit with a clenched fist and fire in her eyes that Jaune found himself pitying anyone who went against her in the games.

"Just make sure you take a break. Last thing we need is for you to tire yourself out and get injured. God knows what Mrs Nikos would do if that happened again." Jaune shivered at the memory when Pyrrha got hurt during one of the training sessions. It was a minor sprain, but it certainly showed where Pyrrha got her mother hen tendencies from, as Mrs Nikos went about trying to get her better while preparing a lawsuit of all things at the coach.

"I will remember that." Pyrrha blushed while giggling at the memory. They continued on in comfortable silence as they walked through the doors and down a corridor that opened up to the view of the garden on the left. With a slight twitch, Jaune remembered a treacherous thought from Nora's words that this was one of the popular spots for confessions with the big tree with big vines and flowers that bloomed magnificently during certain months.

But that would never happen to him.

"Erm Jaune?" He paused to look at Pyrrha who had a very red face as she squirmed a little, looking every bit of a nervous girl wanting to ask a question. "I was wondering, are you free this weekend?"

"Hmmm~ I have nothing on at the moment, Ren and Nora are dealing with something." Jaune replied while noting Pyrrha was acting a little unusual.

"Actually…" She took a deep breath before letting out her words in a quick burst. "I was wondering if you want to come with me to the opening of Vale's latest movie theatre this Saturday?!"

"Pardon?" Jaune blinked, unable to catch most of the words she spoke.

"Do you… want to… go to the opening… with me?" Pyrrha looked down, her body shaking with nervous energy. Before Jaune could reply, someone cut in.

"No he will not." They both of them turned to find a pale girl dressed in a white shirt and jeans who was glaring at him with disdain. "He should not be fraternizing with you at all."

Great, a nuisance had arrived.

Weiss Schnee, one of the popular girls of the academy and considered the fifth most beautiful girl of the lot, was an heiress to a corporate empire that manufactured a large number of products ranging from normal household items to supposed military equipment. She was beautiful in a manner that could be described as a porcelain doll, that much Jaune would admit, and maybe in some other universe where dark monsters threatened humanity, he would have attempted to serenade her with badly played guitar music.

But this was the real world and here Weiss Schnee was, pardon the language, a cold-hearted bitch.

From day one it was clear that she had the whole social superiority ideology going on that only the 'chosen ones' could interact with her and the other popular people, and she had set her sights on Pyrrha who in her opinion should be her partner all the way in the university and not mix with the riff-raff. Her constant interjections had been rather troublesome and it was when seeing Pyrrha looking hurt at the fact no one else was willing to talk to her when Weiss was blocking all of her effort that Jaune decided to put his foot down and tell Weiss off in the middle of the campus grounds in front of everyone.

Unsurprisingly, it got him into a lot of trouble by becoming public enemy number one for the popular kids. Weiss and Yang Xiao Long were at the forefront of the attack, using their cliques to basically bully and at times physically assault him while they provided alibis. It was only when they attempted to frame him for some crime that things got serious. Ren, Nora and a few others who were on his side or treated badly by the cliques found out about it and stopped them, and they had evidence to back it up for the professors to view.

That was also the first time that anyone had ever seen Ozpin lose his temper ever, and it was frightening. He did not raise his voice, nor did he attempt any of the usual methods of punishment, but he simply spoke in a manner that he was going to be really heavy-handed in their punishment and Weiss and Yang should consider themselves lucky that he did not sent them packing or asked the authorities to throw them into jail-cells. He did however made sure that they did get their punishments of some sort while ensuring the ones who did hurt Jaune and the others were immediately expelled from the academy and blacklisted from the other academies, letting the authorities deal out their own punishments, with his only words to them being 'to be so hard on the offenders that they should be dissuaded from such methods ever again'.

Suffice to say, both sides were not on good terms, and it did not help matters when Weiss and occasionally Yang kept trying to get Pyrrha on their side. The only reason things did not go on a head-on collision was due to Blake Belladonna, one of a small handful of popular students that do not discriminate and one Jaune could get along fairly well. She spent a fair bit of time handling the hostilities between both sides and she made it clear that there was no gain from continuing this argument.

"What do you want, Schnee?" Jaune stood a little in front of Pyrrha while glaring at Weiss.

"I am not talking to you, Arc. I am talking to Pyrrha so step aside." Weiss looked at him like she was addressing a vermin, something that really ticked him off.

"Weiss, I have already given my choice, so just leave me alone." Pyrrha said with an expression that was mixed with exasperation, grief and something that send a bit of chill down Jaune's spine.

"I am sure that you can reconsider your choice." Weiss took a step forward only to be rebuffed by Jaune who looked at her with a scowl.

"She already said no. So back off." Jaune knew that it would looked bad to hit a girl, but honestly he was really considering giving in to the urge.

"Like you have any power to say anything." Weiss crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Maybe not, but would you want to risk Ozpin's wrath?" Jaune had a hard time suppressing his smirk at the sight of Weiss scowling at the reminder. "If I recalled correctly, he said that you only have one chance to not screw up."

"And I should worry about that because?"

"I don't think your father would want that, right?" Jaune said as he recalled an article about the current CEO of the company. A strict man of questionable business tactics and morals, he was someone who was reported to be really strict with his children as compared to his predecessor.

"Tch!" The pale girl let out an annoyed sound as she glared at him before turning around and stomping off. She paused before turning the corner. "I hope you come to your senses soon, Pyrrha. That man will be your downfall." With that she left, leaving the two alone and in a very strained situation.

"So, about that offer to go to the opening?" Jaune turned to Pyrrha with a smile to dispel the awkward atmosphere. "Is it still open?" She blinked before beaming, her troubles seemingly forgotten.

"Yes, it is!" Pyrrha clamped her mouth with her hands, blushing heavily at her raised voice. Jaune merely laughed as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"This Saturday should be fine?" He asked as she eagerly nodded. It was for a while before she looked down, her smile gone and replaced with a trembling lip.

"Jaune, I'm sorry."

"For what?" Jaune blinked as he looked at her in concern.

"It's just… because of my status and money and this…" She waved her hands over her body in distress while fighting back tears. "You ended up being a target by Weiss and Yang, not to mention some of the other students who are attacking you because of that failed attempt and!"

"Pyrrha!" Jaune stepped forward to embrace her firmly and gently. "This isn't your fault, I have told you before. I chose to tell her off when she did not leave you alone. So there is no need to beat yourself up over it."

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha sniffed as she hugged him tightly in a manner that she needed the confirmation and warmth from him.

"Trust me, you are not the one at fault." Jaune reassured her while patting her back. They stayed in that position for a while before they parted.

"Feeling better?" Jaune asked while still holding her shoulders gently.

"A little." Pyrrha wiped the tears from her eyes while letting out a small smile. "Sorry about that."

"Pyrrha dear, what have we said about you apologising?" Jaune put on his best impression of his mother and waved a finger at her.

"I apologise too much." Pyrrha let out a chuckle. Before Jaune could reply, the nearby bell tolled to tell anyone in the campus that it was now nine o'clock.

"Oh no, I am going to be late for the practice." Pyrrha said with a distressed tone.

"Well there's no helping it then." Jaune gave his best smile while petting her shoulder as he saw her off. She walked a bit before pausing to look at him one more time.

"I will be seeing you later Pyrrha." Jaune gave a half-hearted wave before walking off, his mood now lowered into the dumps at the pain she had to suffer.

Best to look for Nora, maybe she can help to cheer Pyrrha up as a fellow girl.

=()=

Pyrrha's heart ached as she watched her friend and secret crush walked away with a notable shuffle of his feet. She did not mean to lose control of her emotions, she wanted to have a normal talk with someone who did not see her fame, money, appearance or anything, just a regular person. Jaune was someone she cherished since she arrived to this town, yet why did it seem the world was against her? Why did it feel that everyone and anyone wanted to part him away from her?

"Well at least the nuisance is gone." The awfully screeching voice broke her thoughts. "Shall we pick up where we left off, Pyrrha?"

Ah yes, that was the one. One of the many annoyances she had to deal with upon coming to this academy, the one who kept interfering with her relationship and tried to uphold the whole 'prestigious look'. The one who just couldn't take a damn hint!

"Why are you always doing this?" Pyrrha hissed at Weiss, the venom apparent in her words enough to make the pale girl flinch back with a hint of fear. "Why do you always try to push him away from me? Do you enjoy doing this?!"

"You of all should know why." Weiss recovered quickly and looked at her straight in the eye. "He is not of our level, he should not even breathe the same air as us."

"He is just a regular person trying to make conversation, not some rodent." Pyrrha replied in frustration. "We are just having a normal conversation for crying out loud!"

"Yes, regular." Weiss spoke with a hint of scorn. "A normal conversation with a normal human, who wants to interact with the High Goddess of Mistral. One not worthy of our presence."

"I am not a goddess around here." Pyrrha narrowed her eyes while the dust lifted from the ground and the air around them seemed to become stagnant in the midst of flickering lights. "I am a normal person."

"As entertaining as it is to follow Ozpin's rule of keeping our identities secret, that does not mean we should debase ourselves to the levels of humans, much less of Arc's." Weiss sneered. "We should uphold the standards of our kind."

"By uphold, you mean trying to demean the humans?" Pyrrha hardened her expression as she glared at Weiss. "Like what you tried to do to Jaune two months ago?!"

"That was just a warning to him, shame his entourage of rabbles decide to stop me and Yang from our plan." Weiss replied with the air of one commenting about the weather.

"You tried to slander his name and make him a target for lynching for some false crime!" Pyrrha yelled while the air started to get agitated around them. "Not to mention your usage of the mind spells to make the others go after him. It was a good thing that I and Ren found out about it and the others stopped you! Not to mention Ozpin making sure you do not pull that stunt again!"

"A suitable method to fend him off." Weiss crossed her arms and looked at Pyrrha in the eye. "Remember this, he is a human and you should not be associating so closely. Because we have the event that is to come and you can't bring him to our world." She narrowed her eyes. "It is against the rules for a normal creature to learn of the Outer World. You will do well to remember that."

"That does not equate to making his life hell!" For a moment, something seemed to erupt from Pyrrha and distort the corridor they were in, illusions of grass and vines appearing on the walls before fading away, leaving the corridor intact again.

"Yes well, it didn't work in the end." Weiss shrugged. "And because of that setback it caused me quite a bit of popularity, but that can be replaced easily."

"I don't care about you or your damn standing, I am going to have a proper life around here, a normal life away from Mistral's or Atlas's politics." Pyrrha said as she turned to move away.

"Well no matter, I will just need to make sure he stays away in a more discreet manner." Weiss let out a rather sinister smile as she considered an idea. "I believe he has a few younger sisters?" That certainly got Pyrrha's attention as she immediately stopped moving and the air suddenly felt alive with static.

"What. Are. You. Saying?" Her back was turned to Weiss but the pale girl could tell that she was currently on very thin ice with Pyrrha considering the lack of emotion in her words.

"I think he needs a different approach. Since the direct method didn't work from the school, maybe his family would prove a better motivator."

'CRPHSH!'

The wall next to Weiss crumbled and crashed to the floor, with Pyrrha's fist just missing her face and leaving a small trail of blood where the air sliced her cheek. That said Weiss did not react to that and merely continued watching the goddess before her hefting hard while glaring at her with intense but tranquil fury.

"You will do no such thing to them. You will leave Jaune and his family alone." Pyrrha retracted her hand and clenched her fist while releasing a dark aura around it. "I may be a goddess but even I have limits to my patience."

"Well in that case, you should just team up with me." Weiss presented her hand to Pyrrha. "We can win the tournament that is to come if we worked together, and if you like, I could create a contract that will bind me to my word that I would not touch Jaune, his friends or family." Weiss smirked in a manner that was borderline predatory. "All you have to do is just stay away from him. Just break his heart to save him."

"I think not."

The both of them turned to find the hidden silhouette of the person who spoke. The figure stepped forward soundlessly to reveal the face of Jaune's male companion, Lie Ren, who was currently dressed in an Asian style clothes with a green theme to it. His face betrayed no emotion but his eyes were looking at them with careful intent, hers being of light acknowledgement while Weiss got the blunt of his wrath.

Pyrrha would admit that she did not interact much with Ren during their time together in a group, only bonding over the troubles of Nora wreaking havoc around the area, her insecurities for Jaune's thoughts towards her and the occasional school issues that plagued them. She knew that Ren and Nora were orphans whom were taken in by Jaune's family at a young age and they valued Jaune as a brother they never had before and swore to protect with a passion, made evident when Jaune was the target of Weiss's and Yang machinations which they and a few others stopped them and had evidence to prove their word, thus ensuring the two lost a huge part of their standing and unexpectedly raising their own statuses.

There was also something about Ren that set Pyrrha slightly off each time they were alone. It made her feel that Ren had no presence of any sorts and the way his eyes narrowed at her in the early stages of their friendship made her wary of him, certainly not helped that he could move without a sound and tend to appear whenever she was alone with Jaune for extended periods of time.

And now this…

"Ah, one of that man's 'buddies'" Weiss snorted upon seeing who it was. "Come to check on your pathetic friend?"

"That depends." Ren looked at her while still maintaining the blank expression and eyes of fury. "What did you say you were planning to do to Jaune and his family?"

"Something you should not concern yourself." Weiss said while displaying an expression that Pyrrha recognised and feared greatly. One of an Outer Being prepared to use their powers on a normal without restraint. She turned to warn Ren only to pause at him hefting a loud sigh in a manner that suggested of him dealing with a stupid problem.

"That would be the case." Ren looked up with eyes narrowed and an odd feeling coming off of him. "If you hadn't threaten Jaune in the first place, 'Snow Angel'. Or should I call you, the Second Princess of the Atlas Kingdom?"

Before either of them could react, Ren lifted his leg and brought it back down hard, before the area around them distorted and warped until they found themselves upside down in a twisted corridor and mirrors at odd angles.

"What?!" Pyrrha's eyes went wide at the scene before them. This was the mirror dimension that was to be used for the event they were called into. But for Ren to pull them in so effortlessly would mean…

"Yes Pyrrha. I am more than aware of the event that Ozpin has called us for, there are quite a number attending it after all." Ren answered her as he looked at her. He then added another bit likely guessing what her thoughts were. "Nora knows as well since she is also an Outer Being, but Jaune is a regular human who does not know about us, nor does his family. And I would prefer to keep it that way."

Well that explained things about Ren and Nora, and it also bought a sense of relief to her regarding Jaune not knowing anything about her. But then this brought up new questions, like…

"I thought I recognize the feeling you give off and the name you have." Weiss folded her arms and looked at Ren with a haughty expression. "You are one of the warrior monks from the lost town of Kuroyuri, and one of the pathetic half-breeds."

"Yet this half-breed kicked your ass the other day." Ren said with a hint of a smirk on his face as he watched Weiss snarled at him. Pyrrha stepped in to avoid a confrontation and ask a few questions on her mind.

"How long have you really been with Jaune?" Pyrrha asked with a troubled expression.

"As stated, since childhood. I did not use any glamor or mind spells if that is what you are worried about." Ren replied while guessing her thoughts again. "I made a promise to not use any spells on him or his family."

"I see." The crimson haired girl let out a relieved sigh at that answer.

"Why won't you? Arc is still a pitiful human." Weiss continued to run her mouth off as she looked at the both of them. "Why are you people hanging around such a pathetic specimen for that matter?"

"I would advise that you stop referring to Jaune in that manner." Ren narrowed his eyes while exuding some green aura that shaped itself loosely into a dragon's head next to him, its mouth baring its fangs at Weiss. "As for reasons…" He turned slightly to Pyrrha and looked her in the eye. It took her a moment to guess what he was trying to infer, but when she did it got her mind stopping for a moment.

 _'He and Nora are the same, they too wanted to be considered normal by Jaune.'_

Lightly nodding his head as though he could guess her thoughts, Ren turned back to Weiss. "My personal reason is my own. And you would do well to not push your own opinions on others. It is their decision, not yours."

"This coming from a half-breed who traps us in the mirror dimension?" Weiss snorted. "Very convincing indeed. You also did not state the reason you stuck around the Arc for so long."

"At least unlike you, he does not judge by race or prestige." Ren snapped likely getting irritated by the degrading name Weiss kept calling him by. "He has helped me and Nora in the past in ways that could not be comprehended by someone like you who has been pampered in the kingdom that continues to look down on everyone else." Ren let out a breath as he attempted to control his emotions.

"Of course with the amount of time we spent in our childhood, there was bound to be some cases where Jaune could guess something weird was going on and when we may accidentally display our abilities. He suspects, but he chooses not to press us for details and leaves it to us for the right moment to tell him." Ren chuckled wearily as he looked at the upside down garden. "Jaune Arc is one of a kind all right."

Pyrrha could only smile at Ren's words. It seemed that Jaune was already displaying a large amount of kindness as a child and it cemented the loyalty of his two friends, as it did hers.

"Hmph, so it is for such a stupid reason." Weiss flicked her hair.

"Maybe in your eyes, but for people like me and Nora, that kindness works wonders. Which is why…"

Pyrrha would admit that she was stricken with a bit of fear as the aura around him started to thicken with malicious intent towards the both of them, the dragon head solidifying and looming over him like a judge waiting to condemn them to hell.

"I only have one thing to say." Ren looked at them with malice apparent in his eyes. "I don't care which kingdom you came from, and I could care less of your status as a princess, a warrior or even a goddess. If any of you as much as harm one hair on him or touch his sisters in any unfavourable way, I will hunt you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

"You dare to threaten a member of the Atlas Royalty and a goddess of Mistral?!" Weiss hissed as cold mist gathered around them, her irises narrowing into slits in anger. "You miserable mongrel! Know your place!"

"Not a threat, merely a promise." Ren looked at her hard before turning around, dropping the barrier as he did so, bringing them back to the mortal plane and forcing Weiss to withhold her powers. He paused midway as he looked at Pyrrha. "I do not know much about you, but at the least you seemed genuine in wanting to know him after your arrival, so I will let you off with that warning. Do not hurt him or let him know about the supernatural." He turned and walked down the corridor, his aura hiding his presence to the point of not seeing him in the dark corridor.

"He is too innocent to have anyone's blood on him."

With that he completely vanished, leaving the two of them alone in the corridor. Weiss scoffed and turned to Pyrrha. "Can you believe the nerve of that man? Trying to threaten us, a mere low-ranking monk warrior?" The crimson-haired girl merely looked at her with a look before turning around and walking off quickly without acknowledging her words.

She had her own preparations to deal with and thoughts to sort out.

=()=

Yang sighed as she leaned back on the bench she was on, idly looking at the clouds above as she contemplated on matters both mundane and important. Not something she would do often, but as of late she had to do some retro-inspection.

"What is the problem now?" Yang turned to find her dark-themed friend seating nearby with a book ever at hand.

"Just thinking that's all."

"Let's see. Thinking about the guys trying to ask you out, the assignments you had to finish by the weekend, the event that is to come…" Blake paused before giving out one more. "Ruby still not talking to you."

That definitely got a reaction from the blond as she placed a hand over her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "It is over two months now. Why won't she talk to me?"

"To be fair, your behaviour as of late is a huge reason for that." Blake answered while flipping a page, not bothering to look at Yang who glared at her.

"How am I the problem?" Yang asked her, who merely replied with a look that said 'Are you kidding me?'

"For starters, you kept encouraging her to make friends, go out of her shell and go to events. But one week of Ruby coming into the academy, you basically scared off anyone who is even a few metres close to her. Then for those she was about to go along well, you gave them the third degree that made them run away, leaving her alone with us. And let's not forget what you did to her classmates when one accidentally bumped into her."

"So what? We are better for her." Yang tried to defend herself only to have Blake shaking her head.

"That is just them, then let's not forget the one person whom you seem to have a personal vendetta for some inexplicable reason." Blake continued speaking. "Jaune Arc."

"That guy?" Yang looked at her with disgust. "That guy is just some guy who got lucky in getting into the academy and is getting buddied up with Pyrrha Nikos."

"If you bothered to check, he worked his way through the exams and earned the eighth spot in the overall standing, and he is neighbours with Pyrrha Nikos for a while before entering the academy. And it seems you forgot that when your sister entered, he was the only one who extended his help to her and bothered to interact with her, despite all of your attempts to break them up through physical and violent methods." Blake countered without missing a beat.

"Ruby is special, she could do better than him!"

"You say that, but you cannot deny that Jaune is the only one who can get along with her without caring about her age, her achievements or her awkwardness. He certainly did not care much about Pyrrha's Nikos's fame or beauty, he just gets along well with everyone. Well most of us for that matter." Blake answered back much to Yang's annoyance.

"You seem to be defending him a lot." Yang complained while crossing her arms.

"Unlike you or Weiss, I do interact with the other students, and I don't have any perceived issues with Jaune Arc. In fact you should be thanking me since I can get along with him, thus mitigating the ill will that is directed at us for some time now." Blake said with a bored tone. "Also if you bothered to interact with him properly instead of treating him like the other hormonal males or someone who wanted to hurt Ruby, you would find that he is someone who would have your back. Provided that you don't attack his friends or family." She added that last bit as she recalled the tight group he had.

"Whatever, he should not even be anywhere near Ruby or Pyrrha for that matter." Yang looked away with a grunt.

"There you go again, proving my point." Blake shook her head. "Because of that, Ruby is not speaking to you. Although it might be for the best from the looks of it."

"What?!" Yang got up to her feet and glared at Blake, and for a moment her eyes turned a crimson red before going back to yellow. "Say that again!"

"Look at her now." Blake pointed in a general direction without looking up from her book. Yang turned to find Ruby in the distance chatting to some of the students, a huge smile on her face while making some wild gestures that got the others to laugh. Seeing her so cheerful calmed Yang down and brought a reluctant smile on her own face.

"Okay, I will give you that." Yang grumbled as she laid back down on the bench. "But I still prefer her to talk to me. It is just weird that she doesn't do so even in the house."

"Give it time. But if you want it done faster…" Blake looked at her in the eye. "Go and apologise to Jaune Arc."

"What!" Yang gaped at her for suggesting the idea. Yang Xiao Long, second most popular girl, to apologize to Jaune Arc, the average dork of the academy?!

"There's your chance right now." Blake nodded her head back at Ruby, who was now jumping up and down and waving both arms in the air at the person in question as he came out of the campus building.

"Jaune~" The little girl waved her hand eagerly at the blonde who waved back while making his way over to her.

"Oh that's it!" Yang got to her feet and started stomping her way to them, with Blake sighing and placing the bookmark before getting up and following Yang to make sure she does not cause any more problems. She was serious when she said that it took a lot of quick talking with the others to get the target off their backs, but Yang's and Weiss's attitudes tend to undermine a lot of her work and she was really getting tired of all the bad blood between them and the supposed 'Jaune Faction'.

It was thinking with a clear head that let Blake note the odd flickering of the lights as they walked through the corridor and the odd smell of ozone. With heightened reflexes, she reached out to hold Yang back, just in time for the light bulbs to blow spectacularly, sending glass and sparks raining down on their area.

"What the?!" Yang looked at the ceiling with wide eyes. "How did that happen?"

"Oh~ that looked like it could hurt." The two of them in time to find a certain red-haired girl wearing a white shirt with a small cut-out in the chest region, a pink jacket and blue jeans. "That was very lucky of you to avoid that."

"Valkyrie? Did you just try to attack us?!" Yang narrowed her eyes while baring her teeth in an angry scowl.

"Oh whatever do you mean?" Nora titled her head while giving off a smile that was both innocent while hinting something dark. "I only just got here, how could I overload the lights that way?"

"Oh a wise-ass huh? Let's see how wise you are after getting introduced to my fist!" Yang ignored Blake's attempts to stop her and stomped forward while raising a fist to hit Nora only for the redhead to interrupt.

"Ah~ Ah~ Ah~" Nora waved her index finger as she maintained her smile. "I would not do that if I were you, Dragon Girly. That would be against the rules that Ozpin set aside."

 _'What?!'_ Yang momentarily paused as she looked at the girl who lightly rocked back and forth on her feet. How did this girl know of her race?

"Yang." Blake narrowed her eyes as Nora. "She is one of us, and a high-levelled one at that. I could barely feel a thing from her."

"Oh, thank you little kitty. It means so much." Nora's smile went bigger as she watched Blake's startled reaction at her type being made known. "But honestly you guys are really trying to push Ozpin's boundaries huh? He made it clear that we should not be showcasing our identities so easily, yet you guys are using your abilities so easily, and the amount of charisma being displayed is turning quite a few of the guys to become close to zombies. Heck, I am wondering why the others haven't picked it up yet. Even Pyrrha has better control on her abilities."

"What do you want, Valkyrie?" Yang narrowed her eyes as she clenched her fists.

"Hmmm~ how about we go over there to talk a little so that we don't get disturbed by anyone else?" Nora pointed to the general area. "Oh, and one more thing. Please don't use your shadows to go away, kitty. It is very rude to do so when people want to talk even in lessons."

Blake narrowed her eyes further while Nora skipped along to the spot. She was careful in utilizing her abilities in classes when she wished to be away, and so far only Yang was able to differentiate her real body from her shadow clones. The fact that this girl could see her doing it was proof that she was an Outer Being of a similar if not higher level than them.

Silently they followed her to the spot she indicated, a small portion of the campus that was generally unused and partially hidden for people to take a break. Nora took a look around and nodded before turning back to them.

"Right I think this should be good enough, but just to be on the safe side." She raised a finger and pointed upwards, then with a burst of light, a barrier formed around them, shutting them off from the outside world. If there were any more doubts about her being an Outer Being, they were now removed from that gesture.

"So~ what are the questions you wish to ask?" Nora looked to them while maintaining her smile.

"Who are you really?" Blake started first while maintaining a hold on Yang's shoulder.

"Why~ I am Nora Valkyrie, a girl who likes Renny, pancakes, sloths, Jauney, Pyrrha and a whole lot of other things." The girl twirled on her feet while waving her arms. "I am also a participant in the tournament that is to come."

"Does that mean that Ren and that bastard Jaune are the same as well?!" Yang growled while clenching her fists.

"Renny is an Outer Being too, but Jaune-Jaune is a regular human who does not know about us or the tournament." For a moment Nora's smile turned murderous. "And I would prefer to keep it that way, thank you very much."

"Oh yeah, what makes you think you can tell us what to do!" Yang rushed forward and raised her fist at Nora who merely stood still without getting into a stance. With a roar, Yang threw the fist and…

'PURANK!'

… Got thrown back as her fist connected with a huge hammer of iron that erected a barrier before Nora.

"Oopsie! That was really close for comfort." Nora grabbed the shaft and hefted the weapon onto her shoulders, creating minor cracks in the ground where she stood. "But seriously you need to control your temper, you could lose an arm in that state."

"Why you!" Yang struggled to her feet only to be held back by Blake who summoned a black ribbon to tie her up. "Blake!"

"Calm down you fool. Listen to what she has to say." Blake grunted as she struggled to maintain her hold on Yang.

"You should listen to her, she is the smart one after all." Nora nodded at Blake. "That is what I like about you and so does Jauney. He always said that you were one who could see a bigger picture and one he could relate a bit."

"Relate?" Blake paused as she looked at her.

"You have a pain that can't go away, that is what he said." Nora tilted her head. "I won't ask what, but I know that he is accurate in this type of matters."

"Why? Because he is a big wimp?" Yang's jeering got answered with a bolt of lightning that hit the ground between them, the ground being scorched black and burning from the point of impact.

"Yang, for once in your life, just shut up." Blake groaned as she pulled her back.

"You should listen to her, blondie. You might get to live a little longer." Nora twirled her hammer while balancing on one leg. "So else would do you want to know?"

"How long?" Blake decided to start off with that question while ensuring that Yang was calming down.

"If you are asking how long Renny and I have been in this town, it will be from our childhood all the way till now. If you are asking how long I knew about you two and Weiss being one of us, it would be shortly after our entry into the academy." Nora replied as she started to balance the hammer on top of her head.

"How is it that you and Ren got together with Jaune Arc?" Blake asked while slowly releasing her grip on Yang who thankfully calmed down enough to listen, particularly to the question she just asked.

"As stated, we are childhood friends." Nora jumped lightly to make the hammer fly off her head and back into her arms. "Jaune bumped into us when we were kids and we have been friends since."

"That's it? No glamor spells, no payment, nothing?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Oh we don't do that, especially the mind spells. After all he has done for us, it is really bad to do something of that sort to him." Nora's smile turned a little nostalgic in nature. "Considering what he helped us with, that was worth more than gold itself, and that will not change anytime soon."

Blake blinked as she watched the girl in front of her. She was used to watching people's motions and expressions to see if they were lying to her, so she could tell from that look that Nora was being truthful about this.

"What inspired this type of loyalty?" It was a moment later that she realized she spoke out loud her thoughts, something Nora picked up but decided to answer.

"He saved us from something when we were young. He may not remember considering our ages, but it was that act of selflessness that Ren and I decided to make sure he does not get hurt."

"It can't just be that?" Yang asked again having troubles to connect her mind of Outer Beings willing to be with a human for so long. At that remark, Nora raised her hammer and pointed it at her.

"Well, one of the reasons is something you should be familiar about, since you have Ruby with you."

"… Family?" Blake spoke the first word in her head.

"Yup." Nora merely nodded while shouldering her mighty weapon.

"You see, Jaune-Jaune has helped me and Renny quite a few times in the past, and though he tries to pass it off as nothing, the help he gave is not something to be brushed off so easily. After all…" Nora let out a chuckle that seemed slightly melancholic in the tone. "He saved us quite a few times despite being a human and not knowing who or what we are. He gave us food to eat, a home to live in and a family to help us with our pain. Not once did he expect to be rewarded, he just does it out of the kindness of his heart. And his family are also very kind folk who just see us as one of their own."

"And that is why…"

The sound of gears shifting filled the area as she raised the hammer, the shaft extending and the head letting loose arcs of lightning that made the air come alive around them. Yang and Blake tensed up as Nora looked at them, her face now devoid of a smile and replaced with a look of deadly malice.

"I am only giving you this warning once, and I will make it simple enough that kitty there can interpret it for blondie if she is too stupid to understand." Yang growled but was held back by Blake. "You will not attack Jaune or his family, you will not attempt to slander his name in any way like Weiss-cream did, you do not try anything that will hurt him in any way, and you will certainly not bring him into our side of the world. If you can do that, I can overlook some of your threats. If not…" For a brief moment, Yang and Blake could feel the bloodthirstiness radiating from her figure as the lightning turned a crimson red.

"There will be plenty of leg breaking." The coldness of her tone was enough to send chills down both of their spines and they were unconsciously activating their respective abilities to answer her threat. Blake hissed as she arched on all fours, a black tail appearing from behind while her eyes turned into feral slits and sharp canines became visible from her open mouth. Yang's hair glowed a golden red and hovered in the air while her eyes were a deep crimson and her arms started to display scales, the air around her heating up to the point of the nearby bushes drying up. The three of them stared at each other, waiting for someone to make a move, then…

"Nora, where are you?!"

"Coming Jauney~" In an instant, Nora dematerializes her weapon, brought down the barrier and ran off with a natural smile of happiness on her face. It was so sudden that it took Yang and Blake by surprise and they remained there briefly with befuddled expressions on their faces before they remembered they were still in the open. They quickly reined in on their powers, straightened their clothes and followed the path Nora took, stopping at the corner to peek around the area where they found the girl had tackled Jaune to the ground and was proceeding to squeeze the life out of him. Ruby was nearby, fruitlessly attempting to loosen her arms to free her friend, her face going red at the effort.

"Nora! Can't Breathe!" Jaune gasped as his face started to turn blue.

"Oops! Sorry Jaune!" Nora loosened her grip while picking him up, spinning him on the spot while maintaining her hug so that his back was to Yang and Blake, keeping him and Ruby away from seeing Nora giving a cold smile at the two girls. Yang growled as she started to move forward only to be restrained by Blake.

"Don't" Blake looked at her in the eye. "Save it for the tournament." Yang looked at her for a moment before letting out a loud sigh and turning around to walk back into the building. Blake paused to look back at Nora giving off a triumphant smirk before following Yang.

They would take their chance to deal with her in the tournament.

=()=

"Good morning, Ozpin." A blonde woman greeted as she entered the office with two mugs of coffee.

"Good morning, Glyndia. How are the students faring?" Ozpin paused in his paperwork to receive the cup from her, taking a moment to relish the smell of freshly grounded caffeine.

"They are doing fine." Glyndia took a sear opposite of his table and sipped her drink. "Although it would seem some of the participants are starting to get rowdy."

"That is true, the cameras and detectors were going off when they released the abilities. Thankfully they were isolated and well away from the student populace." Ozpin remarked as he continued with the paperwork. "Also a good thing that the lessons today are in the afternoon, so no other personnel is around but us."

"There is something worth noting though." Glyndia mentioned as she placed her cup on the table. "It seems quite a few of the participants are arguing over the one you invited to the academy."

"You are referring to Jaune Arc I presume?" Ozpin moved his completed papers to one side and took his cup to drink, savouring the flavour of the coffee.

"Indeed, and I must confess. I understand that you wanted better associations with the humans and that you want to bring the two worlds together for peace, and that you also looked to humans for great innovations. But there are some who are asking the reason why you personally went to Jaune Arc to extend that invitation." Glyndia spoke while stirring the contents of her cup. "There are plenty of other human candidates with greater qualifications and merit that would have gotten your interest. Not even Pyrrha Nikos or Weiss Schnee have that honour, and I do know that you only extended the invitation to Mr Lie and Miss Valkyrie because you could persuade Mr Arc to come in the process."

"You overestimate me." Ozpin gave that mysterious smile that she had learned to hate with a passion. "I have no such intentions. I merely see a talent that could be better utilised in the halls of the Beacon University."

"Ozpin…"

"Okay, I will stop pulling your leg." Ozpin raised a hand to halt her impending tirade. "I am honest about wanting to cultivate his talent here, because of all the students that are in this school, I see plenty of wasted potential inside him, just waiting to be unleashed. I would like to see it flourish and benefit the world with him able to look forward with his head up high. And also." He stood up and made his way to the window, looking down where he could see the person in question being tackled by two of his friends.

"I believe Mr Arc has a role to play in the upcoming tournament."

"Are you serious?" Glyndia came to his side and frowned at both the boy below and the words Ozpin spoke. "You do know that the tournament is meant for Outer Beings, not humans."

"Actually not always the case. There has been records which had indicated a time that there were seven humans who took part in the earlier tournaments. The reason that they were not shown was that during the last tournament the humans had taken part in, many of the contestants decided to ignore the rules and attack the real world with armed forces."

"What happened?" Glyndia looked at him, noting the odd weariness on his face.

"… What happened could only be called a war between the Outer Beings and the seven humans." Ozpin sighed heavily and looked up at the sky. "As history can attest, Outer Beings would always classify humans as something beneath their feet, even now there are those with that mentality ingrained into their minds for many years. As such, they gravely underestimated what seven humans could do in the face of their world's end."

"There is no greater saying than this: Humans are the real monsters."

"I would not go into details, but basically the seven took on all of them and pushed them back, and in the process reshaped the world of Remnant as we know it now. They fought to the last man, ensuring that every life taken from their side would mean the death of many more Outer Beings by their hands. It was only until the administration and the kingdoms came together to stop the madness that the war was finally over. The last human who survived the onslaught had one thing to propose to them." Ozpin looked to the statue, using that as a means to jolt his memories.

"In exchange for them to never invade the real world and attack the humans, the humans shall not participate in the tournament ever again unless a certain condition is fulfilled." Ozpin said as he took another sip. "And before you asked, I do not know that condition. But it was there in black and white."

"That is the reason for it?" Glyndia looked at Ozpin with an incredulous expression. "Forgive me for saying this, but I find that hard to believe."

"Oh?" Ozpin turned to her with a smile. "Have you forgotten not all creatures, be they Outer Beings or humans, start out the same way?" He gestured at himself. "After all, who would expect me to be a former human?"

"… You do have a point." Glyndia nodded slowly, recalling the person before her during his early years as a normal human who kept on trying his hardest to save lives and ended up becoming an Outer Being of Time through sheer will and persistence. "So you believe that Mr Arc might end up the same way?"

"I am not certain, but whether he knows this or not, he is currently an odd point of interest for quite a number of the Outer Beings, and the fact that this" Ozpin held up a card that was lightly glowing and showing 2 crescent moons with a sword through them, "started to appear after his arrival, makes me think he is involved."

"That card." Glyndia widened her eyes. "That is the proof of participating in the tournament!"

"Indeed, and I made sure to check this as many times as I could these past couple of months to ensure that it is not a mistake." Ozpin looked back at the boy who was scolding the orange-haired girl while the smaller girl was hovering around them with a sheepish look. "One thing is for certain."

"This is going to be an interesting year."

* * *

0-0-0-0

* * *

Hello there, this is the first idea I have regarding RWBY, a modern / fantasy AU where Jaune is just a normal guy who is unknowingly friends / enemies with several creatures called Outer Beings that got called up to the university by Ozpin to take part in a tournament. The inspiration comes primarily from Fate Stay Night, where Jaune is a bit like Shirou Emiya, being the nice guy while the others are magus / Servants. The idea is rough but the concept is when they start to fight, Jaune would find himself in a situation where Pyrrha, Ren and Nora are forced to break their cover and show him the 'Mirror World' if you would. Remnant would be the alternate world they are from while Jaune is from the normal world 'Earth'.

Jaune in this storyline is unknowingly brought in by Ozpin because the man believes he would play a part in the tournament which showcases to many parts of the world. Jaune will have to deal with the prejudice of being a 'weak human' compared to those with powers.

This is a rough concept, so please R-&-R, I would like some opinions for my first RWBY concept. Let me know if you want more one-shot chapters of this or perhaps a full story.

And I put my pen down for now.


	3. Remnants of Regios

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

* * *

 **Date Published:** 8th July 2017

 **Title:** Remnants of Regios

 **Genre:** AU with elements from Chrome Shelled Regios

 **Description:**

 _All he wanted was to be away from fighting, away from the pain and away from the past. But in a world dominated by Grimm and monsters resulting from the Great War, life decided that he needed a second chance and a reminder that with power comes responsibility._

0-0-0-0

 ** _"Jaune, we got to go now!'"_**

 ** _"There are still civilians in the lower echelons! I can't leave them behind!"_**

 ** _"The other fighters are already handling them, we need to get to the shelters! The Grimm and the Contaminoids are coming in too quickly!"_**

 ** _"Go and get the others out of here now! I will deal with the monsters!"_**

 ** _"You don't need to!"_**

 ** _"Violet Arc, this is an order! You will escort your family to the shelters this instant!"_**

 ** _"Don't try using that authority on me! If you think I am leaving my younger brother behind, you are sadly mistaken young man! You may be one of the best, but this is suicidal even for you!"_**

 ** _"I will join you later, now just!"_**

 ** _"BOOOOOOM!"_**

 ** _'RRROOOGDDFERRRR!'_**

 ** _"JAUNE!"_**

 ** _"VIOLET!_**

=()=

Jaune let out a startled gasp as he jolted awake and nearly hit his head against the railing just above him, barely stopped from getting a concussion by the person next to him who grabbed his shoulder in the nick of time.

"Easy there, son." The man next to him cautioned when he looked at Jaune glancing around with wide eyes. "It is just the airship landing a little harder than normal. We just caught a bit of turbulence during the last few minutes." He assured Jaune with a few pats on the shoulder. Jaune let out a breath that he unconsciously held as he laid back into the chair and pressed his head against the padded neck rest.

"First time flying?" Jaune turned to the man who asked with a smile and mentally studied his appearance. He was in his late forties and was medium built with a stubble around his mouth and short brown hair cut to the style used in the military. He dressed simply in slacks and a worn-out shirt with loafers and showed signs of a recent admission to the hospital from the bandages peeking out from the collar.

 _'A civilian. Not a threat.'_

"Fourth actually." Jaune offered what he hoped to be a normal smile but likely come off as a grimace. "I don't really do well with air travel, it does not agree with my stomach in the nicest way, so I had to take some pills to make me sleep."

"Ah, that I can relate." The man nodded with a face of understanding. "When I started out, I was puking chunks like there was no tomorrow." He paused before whispering. "Still do every so often."

"My condolences." Jaune gave a nod before grimacing as the airship decided to make their lives miserable by jolting hard at angles, making both of them grab their mouths instinctively. Almost immediately, two bags were held in front of the two. Looking up, the two saw they were provided by the air stewardess who looked at them with a deadpan expression.

"Don't even think about it." She warned them with narrowed eyes. The two males quickly nodded and grabbed the bags, taking deep breaths to steady their stomachs. Thankfully for everyone on board, their stomachs decided that they had enough fun and leave them be.

"I will never travel by air again." Jaune swore as he crumpled the bag.

"Yeah well, if those scientists ever found a way to make transport safer in these lands, I will take that offer anytime." The man agreed with his words. "But then, it is one thing with Grimm, it is another thing entirely with those Contaminoids." Jaune could only agree as the airship finally landed on the ground and the cabin started to depressurize slowly. Within a few minutes, the cabin doors opened and the people started to trickle out, while the both of them waited for those in the middle aisle to move away. Once that was done, the two of them took their time to take the hand luggage's from the top compartments and made their way out of the airship, going slowly due to the lack of circulation in their legs.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you risk losing your stomach to come here?" The man asked in a joking tone.

"I am relocating here." Jaune gave that answer after a pause, something the man picked up on and raised an eyebrow. "I… no longer have a home to go back to."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I did not mean to bring up any bad memories." The man winced as he apologized, likely knowing about the dangers of living outside of the kingdoms and thinking up the worse possible scenario.

Which for Jaune's case, it was close but not what the man was thinking.

"It is fine." Jaune reassured the man. "I just wandered around until I found myself near the kingdom, I will be taking up a course at the academy here."

"Oh, Beacon Academy huh?" The man nodded approvingly as they both got out of the airship. Pausing on the tarmat, he turned to Jaune and offered a hand. "Well I hope you do well here, kid."

"Thank you." Jaune took the hand and shook it. "My name is Jaune Arc. It is nice talking to you, Mister?"

"Vance Kibble." The man took back his hand and jabbed a thumb at himself while smiling big. "If you happen to come down to the town anytime, come and visit at my store 'Vale's Groceries and Cutlery'. I can set you up with some stuff for your own use at your apartment or dorms."

"Will do. Thank you for the offer."

"See you kid, don't be a stranger." Vance waved his arm as he walked away. Jaune waved back at him before tightening his hold on his backpack and looked up at the sky where he could see the protective dome encompassing the area. Looking back down he could see the tunnel leading out of the airport and to the huge dome where the kingdom was encased inside.

The kingdom that would serve as his new home.

Jaune bit his lip lightly as he started to move towards the building to collect the remainder of his luggage. This was it, the end of his old life from home and the start of a new life. He was no longer the Jaune Arc of Locus Amoenus.

He was now regular Jaune Arc, a normal person about to start a normal life.

=()=

Jaune had spent roughly a week getting used to the environment of the new kingdom he had arrived at and getting a side-job to deal with expenses. During which he got himself updated on the type of infrastructure the kingdom has and any issues that had to be handled. Honestly he was surprised by the amount of differences Vale and his home had with one another.

For one the security of Vale relied on the geographical advantage of Mountain Glenn and the small hills that surrounded the kingdom, reinforced with high walls that would break the progress of any Grimm Hordes under the Rank of C and the ground-based Contaminoids. With the absence of smaller villages and towns near the kingdom, the physical dome and the Dust Shield could be focused solely on the city and the academy, ensuring the power was dedicated solely against Contaminoids who managed to get past all the other defences set up.

The second difference was the government structure. It was basically a cabinet of people who acted as the top council of the group handling the major security and bi-lateral relations with other kingdoms, followed by a second tier that handled trades, major businesses and other medium sectors, and lastly a smaller group that dealt with the lesser aspects of the city. Quite different from his old kingdom where the structure was mostly conducted by the royal family and maybe a couple of cabinets to handle the different towns.

The third reason would be the crime rate. Back home, there were a few small crimes that popped up with the occasional murder or robbery in between months, but in Vale it seemed to be going a regular trend, what with recent Dust Shop robberies, gang wars and the terrorist group called the White Fang he had heard on the way to Vale. It was quite high and it was actually starting to worry some of the residents from what he gathered.

And perhaps the biggest difference was regarding the building before him as he walked out of the airship.

Beacon Academy.

Built after the Great War, its original purpose was to train future huntsman and huntresses to slay Grimm and be the symbol of hope for the people of Vale, but the introduction of the Contaminods had expanded that role to slaying them as well, with special courses developed to deal with those creatures.

Not an easy feat since the creatures were a creation that was both natural but man-made.

An existence that sprung up four years after the Great War, they were the result of careless experimentation of animals and Grimm, reckless use of Dust and a heap-load of experimental chemical weapons that completely changed the landscape and the animals living in the area. Creatures that survived that onslaught and mutated into something that remotely resembled the creatures found in the darkest of nightmares. Some of which became towering behemoths that could pose a challenge in size to Goliaths. Monsters that could make even the Grimm run away with their tails between their legs. And finally, the creatures that made the world more uninhabitable than the Grimm that the four major kingdoms had to quarantine themselves from the world with giant domes and Dust Barriers.

Essentially, the symbol of karma on the people of Remnant for their sins during the Great War.

Shaking his head, Jaune focused on the academy before him, thinking about its purpose.

Different from the other Kingdoms, Beacon Academy had two different education systems developed over the years to suit the normal city it was protecting, the Hunting Arts and the General Studies. The Hunting Arts was for those who would be training as Hunters while the General Studies were for those who could not fight but wish to contribute to the academy and the kingdom. There were cases where students could switch to another course or handle both, but they were rare since students would rather focus on one course.

Not that he had to worry about it, he was going for a normal life. So he went for General Studies so that he could help the city out in his own way and send back money to his family. Jaune looked at the tower of the academy and clenched his fist silently.

This was it, the start of a new life.

 **'BBBOOOMM!'**

… Not quite the start he was thinking, but he would take what he could.

Looking around the area, he found the source of the explosion that somehow managed to make a huge crater in the reinforced ground. In the crater laid a little girl who was looking at the sky on her back with a despondent look. Jaune had considered for a moment to leave, but the expression on her face and tears in her eyes reminded him of his youngest sister when she was sad. So with a deep breath, he moved towards her with big steps, overhearing her mumble 'Welcome to Beacon.' in what had to be the most heart-wenching disappointment to be used by a little girl.

Damnit, now he really should go and help her out.

"Need a hand?" Jaune offered the little girl a hand. She looked at him for a moment before grabbing his hand and letting him pull her hard, giving him an opportunity to look at her carefully as she took the chance to dust off her clothes.

She looked to be fifteen years old with dark hair that ended with red tips, a rounded face that still held on to a child-like youthfulness and curiously, silver eyes that shone with a light of innocence rarely seen back home. She was dressed primarily in black and red; a black corset with red laces intertwining one another, on top of a long sleeved black top with a red hood attached at the collar and finally a skirt that covered the majority of her legs and finished with a pair of dark boots.

"My name is Jaune Arc. Don't mind me asking but are you okay?" Jaune asked as he looked at the crater again and noted the depth of the crater. The fact that she was still standing was quite an achievement on its own.

"I am fine, thank you for asking." The girl scratched the back of her head with a nervous laugh. "My name is Ruby Rose, pleased to meet you!"

"Pleased to meet you as well, Ruby." Jaune shook her hand before letting go. "You seem a little young to be here. Per chance you are on a special program?"

"Yup." The girl nodded her head. "I skipped two years, but don't treat me as special. I want to be a normal girl with normal knees!"

 _'Normal knees? Is that some street lingo I need to learn?'_ Jaune thought privately to himself as he watched the girl fidget nervously. Granted his street smarts were not as well as those in the four kingdoms since he rarely left his home, but from the looks of things, he was at least a bit better in socializing compared to her. Better think of a topic.

"I am entering the Hunting Arts Programme. Are you in it as well?" Ruby beat him to the punch by asking him. Jaune raised an eyebrow at her admission in that programme but answered her query "I am taking General Studies."

"General Studies?" Ruby tilted her head. "Are you sure you are in the right course? Your hands have callouses that only come from swords and guns, and your grip tells me you have strong arm training."

"I am in the right course." Jaune replied politely and firmly in a manner that told Ruby that he did not want further questions on that. "I just do a lot of training with weapons."

"Oh I see." They found themselves in a very awkward atmosphere and Jaune was starting to have the idea of moving on when the girl interrupted. "So I got this thing." She took a red rectangular object from underneath her cloak and pressed a button, making it shape-shift into a scythe that was at least double her height and had a wicked looking blade that gleamed in the sun.

 _'Holy Mackerel! That is one huge weapon!'_ Jaune gasped at the weapon and could not help feeling slightly emasculated at the sight of a little girl holding up a scythe that big and deadly. With a shake of his head, he focused his attention on the weapon, silently thanking his sister for her knowledge of weaponry. "Is that also a high-calibre sniper rifle?"

"Oh you can tell! Yes my baby is also a bolt-action gun that fires off 0.50 calibre rounds that can take down Beowolves like flies and can send Ursas running to the hills!" Ruby preened with pride as she describe her weapon. "Its accuracy cannot be matched by any other guns aside from those made by the leading gunsmiths in all of Vale. And the best part, I made Crescent Rose all by myself!"

Jaune whistled at her description as he looked at the weapon with an approving eye. "I suppose the choice of calibre is for the usage of the recoil during certain attacks with the scythe?"

"Yup! If timed correctly, I can behead a Grimm quickly and attack another in a few seconds!" Ruby had an expression of happiness as she looked at him. "You know a lot about weapons, do you dabble in them as well?"

"I do a bit of maintenance on some, but the majority of my knowledge came from my sister. She is the one in my family who runs a business in weapons making." Jaune replied before taking a step back from Ruby who got into his personal space with an adorable and almost crazy smile on her face.

"Oh, is she a famous weapon-smith? Is she featured in the weapons catalogue? What is her specialty? Does she offer special parts? Can she do upgrades? Can I meet her? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

"Whoa, slow down there Ruby!" Jaune put up his hands and gently eased himself back in a manner that resembled going away from an animal. "Erm, in order of your questions, she is somewhat well-known in the kingdoms and has been listed in the weapons catalogue under a pen-name, she has no particular specialty but she does prefer heavy artillery, she does special customization for parts and occasionally upgrades. As for meeting her, that might be a problem since she mostly gets customers via agents or word-of-mouth by trustworthy sources."

"What is her pen-name?" Ruby asked with her eyes shining with excitement and for a brief moment, he thought her eyes actually glowed.

"Kaval Sonca?" Jaune replied slowly as he braced for a possible reaction which became true as Ruby let out a loud squeal of acknowledgement and joy.

"Oh My God! Your sister is the famed weapon-smith that is highly praised in Vale, Vacuo and Atlas! Much of her items became the gold standard in many of the Hunters' weaponry used today! Even students from Vacuo has been trying to get some of her weapons due to the high tolerance to heat and easy maintenance!" The little girl was bouncing up and down with excitement, an adorable sight if not for the giant scythe that was still in the hand and was close to decapitating him.

"Erm Ruby? Could you at least put the sharp and deadly weapon away?" Jaune ducked under the blade while walking backwards.

"Oops! Sorry~" Ruby apologized and compacted her weapon with a sheepish look. "It's just that I never thought I would meet someone who is a sibling to a famous weapon-smith. I am a bit of a nerd for weapons."

"I can tell." Jaune chuckled lightly. "I'll be sure to pass on to my sister that she has a big fan in Vale."

Ruby blushed and grabbed the helm of her skirt lightly. "So do you know where we are going?"

"Nope. But I think we can follow them." Jaune pointed his thumb at the small group in the distance. "I think we need to hurry though, the speech is going to start soon…" Jaune got interrupted when the PA systems in the area let out a light squelch before playing an announcement.

 **[Attention to all new students arriving for the orientation. Due to an accident in one of the classrooms, the orientation would be shifted to another venue and the timing would be adjusted to one hour from the original timing. I repeat…]**

"Well, that is convenient." Jaune remarked while Ruby let out a cute giggle. A loud growl interrupted her and she clutched her stomach in embarrassment.

"Hungry?" Jaune smiled at Ruby's shy nodding, being reminded of his younger sister's behaviour. "Alright then, let's go and find us some grub."

"Yeah!" Ruby pumped her fist in the air with the other hand on her hip. "Onward to cookies!"

 _'Cookies? Who eats that for lunch?'_

"OUCH! That hurt!" The both of them turned to find a big fellow dressed in the academy's Hunting Arts uniform pulling the ears of a brown-haired female rabbit Faunus who was dressed in the General Arts uniform. Considering their ages, Jaune would put them around the second year. The girl was clearly in pain and part of her attire seemed to have been torn at certain areas yet the guy was not showing any remorse, if anything he was gleeful at the humiliation and pain he was inflicting on her.

"Hey!" Before Jaune could react Ruby stepped forward with a determined frown. "Let go of her you bully!" The big guy in question turned to them and sneered at the sight of their arm bands.

"Oh? What do we have here? A wannabe Huntress on her first tour, and…" He snorted at the sight of Jaune. "A General Studies brat who should be pushing pencils rather than stand around this area."

"Let her go now." Ruby repeated her statement while Jaune got into a stance that was an unconscious move.

"What are you going to do about it? Cry for your mommy?" The guy mocked her before tugging the ears of the Faunus again, making her yell out in pain. That was a wrong move as Ruby took one step and with a bellow of wind and a trail of rose petals, the Faunus was in her arms and a few feet away from the bully.

"Stay here." Ruby told the Rabbit Faunus. "I will deal with the big meanie."

"Oh, so the little girl wants to play in the big leagues huh?" The senior mocked as he gestured with his hand. "Come on then."

"All right." Ruby took out Crescent Rose and deployed it fully. "Game on." With that, she rushed forward with her Semblance and swung hard with her scythe, but the senior merely ducked while taking out a gun from his holster and swinging his fist at Ruby, who managed to dodge the attack by swerving to the side and making a bit of distance away from him.

"Here you go little red!" The senior raised his gun and fired off a few Fire Dust Rounds, forcing Ruby to dodge them with her Semblance and letting them hit the grounds behind her and exploding spectacularly.

"Everyone get back!" Jaune shouted to the bystanders still in the area while trying to usher some of the more daring ones. "You there! Call for a guard or a staff now!" Jaune pointed to one of the bystanders who had a scroll out for recording.

"Why should I?" The person actually dared to question his intentions.

"Because you dimwit, we are in the academy grounds where people are frequenting, not to mention the both of them are using their Semblances and weaponry to create a goddamn mess of the area! Do you want this to escalate and someone asks why you did not call in the authorities?!" Jaune growled at the person who grumbled but relented to getting someone. Jaune then turned to look at the fight, resisting the urge and the voice in his head to jump into the fray.

 _'I cannot break my promise, I have to hold.'_

Ruby did not hear the conversation, she was too busy dealing with the guy who was showering the area with his shots. What little she could tell, the weapon he has had a capacity of 30 rounds, but he could also use his aura to supplement for ammo, and those hit harder and further. That was so unfair!

Ruby decided that she needed to get up close and personal, so she sped up and switched her weapon to the rifle in order to fire off some rounds to distract the senior before she went into his space and with a quick flick of her weapon, forced him to release his weapon, but with the consequence of him grabbing onto Crescent Rose and pulling her in for a punch. With a roar, he punched her hard in the stomach, making her release her weapon involuntarily.

"Not bad, but not good enough." The guy tossed her weapon away before clenching his fists. "Now you are going to get it." He threw a punch only to hit nothing and having his head kicked hard.

"I don't need to rely too much on my baby to beat you." Ruby pulled down one eye and stuck out her tongue. The senior bristled with anger and started to throw punches and random grabs to try and catch her, but Ruby countered by moving in tight circles with her Semblance and hitting his with quick jabs and kicks to break his stance while keeping away from his attacks.

"So that is how she does it." Jaune muttered as he watched Ruby out-manoeuvred the bully with tight turns, occasionally sticking her tongue out to antagonize him in response to a failed punch attempt. It was quite simple in theory but hard to put into practice, but she could circumvent the issue by using that speed Semblance of hers.

But it was too basic, something that could be dealt with without much effort, and it was something that guy found out as he directed his attack to the ground instead. The ground exploded spectacularly and broke her momentum, giving him the chance to deliver a hard punch that sent her crashing into the other girl, the momentum pushing the both of them all the way to the wall.

"Now just stay there!" The bully took up his gun and aimed at the pillars in front of them before firing off his shots, destroying them and causing the ceiling to start falling. The people around the area screamed in fear, but all that seemed to dull as Jaune looked at the scene before him, the manner in which it was depicted pulling him back into his memories.

 ** _'A sea of fire and devastation…'_**

 ** _'Bodies strewn across the grounds…'_**

 ** _'Screams that echoed into the night…'_**

 ** _'His two sisters stuck in the rubble, the older one unconscious with her head bleeding…'_**

 ** _'His younger sister looking at him with tears running down her face as an Alpha Beowolf appeared behind them, its mouth opened wide to claim its victim…'_**

NNNNOOOOO!

=()=

Ruby winced as she hugged her stomach where the bully punched her. A normal punch she could handle, but one enhanced with Aura and an explosive Semblance meant that her Aura got reduced significantly and her body had to bear a major brunt of his attack. Not to mention her crashing into the Faunus ended up entangling the two of them and her getting a slight concussion when she hit the wall. Unfortunately that meant the two of them were unable to move in time when the bully used his gun to fire off a few shots at the supporting pillars.

Ruby could only brace herself as the pillars broke apart and the ceiling started to come down on them. The Faunus she was helping actually managed to untangle her arms enough to wrap them around Ruby and turn around to shield her with her body. This was not how she wanted to go down! She was supposed to be doing the saving! Ruby shut her eyes and prepared for the inevitable crushing.

Yang was so going to be angry at her!

 _'BOOM!'_

All of her thoughts got halted when she temporarily felt very light and the sounds of the wall collapsing got interrupted by what seemed to be a small sonic boom. Ruby slowly opened one eye before blinking both as she found herself at a different part of the courtyard, well away from the disaster zone. The other girl was also slightly dazed by what had happened and was currently looking at the one holding on to the both of them.

Wait a minute.

"Jaune?"

"You two okay?" He asked while directing his sights on them, and Ruby had to admit she felt a slight chill down her spine as she looked at his clear blue eyes that contained a light not present earlier. There was also a bit of warmth on her cheeks as she felt his arms around her, something the other girl was sharing as she held a blush on her face.

"Y~yeah, we are okay." Ruby managed to get her words out of her mouth.

"Good." He took off his coat to hand over to the older girl, revealing his attire to be a simple sleeveless polo-shirt that showed his arms and brown jeans. "You can use this to cover yourself. Just be careful, it is a little heavy." He placed it on her to cover her up before letting go, causing the girl to slump forward with a bit of surprise on her face. Ruby curiously took the sleeve of the coat to see the material only to blink in surprise at the abnormal weight it had.

 _'Why is it so heavy?'_

"Stay here." Jaune stood up and faced the bully, his action drawing both of their attentions to his back. It was when she realized that Jaune was a lot taller and leaner than she thought, but at the same time well-built in a manner that he was not bulky, just the right amount of muscles.

 _'Wait, what did I just think?'_

Ruby's thoughts got put on hold when Jaune took one step forward and in a blink of an eye, soundlessly crossed the distance to be in front of the assailant who was clearly unprepared for the speed he displayed. With a mere raising of his arm, he knocked the gun out of his hands and punched him with enough force to push him away. Without stopping Jaune took another step and appeared behind the bully to tap him on the shoulder, using the moment he turned to go around the side and sock him in the face.

"Damn you, hold still!" The bully punched the ground with his Semblance, but Jaune merely jumped to land on his head and push off to destabilize the bully, using the chance to kick him hard. Just as the bully got to his feet, Jaune moved once more and appeared right next to the bully with his arm raised. That odd action was answered when the bully dropped to his knees and slumped backwards, his eyes rolled back and an expression of shock on his face.

"… What just happened?" Ruby blinked as she tried to comprehend what Jaune did, something the spectators around them wondered as well and were now coming closer to them.

"What did that guy do?"

"He just appeared out of nowhere, grabbed those two out of the way then took out that other person in no time!"

"Is he in the Hunting Arts Programme?"

"Looks to be a freshman, but his clothing suggests he is going for the General Studies Programme."

"No way man, did you see what he did?!"

Ruby ignored them and looked back at Jaune who was now sporting an odd expression on his face as he checked on the guy he knocked out. If she had to describe it, it was an expression that had loneliness, exasperation and a hint of melancholy mixed altogether. It was as if he was trying to hold back his skills and was forced to display them.

But why? Why would he want to do that?

=()=

"So Glyndia, what do you think?" A silver-haired man dressed in the black suit asked his companion by the side.

"I think we really need to step up the punishment on bullying Faunus or the General Studies students." The blonde woman dressed in a white shirt and blue skirt answered while using her riding crop to adjust her spectacles.

"That too, but what of my choices?" Ozpin patiently agreed while asking again for her opinion. Glyndia sighed while looking at the students down below where the fight took place.

"Regarding Ruby Rose, I shall concede that she is more than capable to be here. With the right type of training, she could easily take on some of the seniors in the academy and be an asset against the Grimm and perhaps lower grade Contaminoids." Glyndia gave her thoughts as she switched her sights from the little girl to the blonde male. "But regarding the young man from Locus Amoenus, I can't tell whether he is appropriate for the course. The most I can tell is he has abnormal reflexes, decent attack strength and speed that can briefly exceed Miss Rose's Semblance. Aside from that, I can't really tell you about his combat. But" Glyndia let out an approving nod as she look through the folder they had with them. "His academics are quite on the ball. Mr Arc would certainly do well in the management sector. I look forward to having him in the financial course."

"Perhaps." Ozpin hummed silently. "But as of now, we need more than just good grades."

"Need I remind you that Mr Arc enrolled into the General Studies Programme by his own choice?" Glyndia frowned at Ozpin, knowing his methods and personality. "He is not like the others who you could switch the courses on the whim and in any manner you like. If what you said is true, he would not want to be involved with fighting anymore and surely he would push to stay on General Studies."

"That you can leave it to me." Ozpin took a sip of the coffee in his mug. "For now, I think it would be prudent that we get everyone down there to move to the theatre and get Mr Arc in here."

"Understood." Glyndia was about to go to the elevator when Ozpin stopped her with a mischievous smile.

"Wait a minute. I think for today, let's go with something a bit more dramatic." Ozpin opened the window next to him and gestured to her, who merely shook her head but held a small smirk at the idea. She proceeded to walk to the window and use her Semblance to levitate herself off the ground and float towards the open courtyard. Ozpin chuckled lightly before redirecting his attention to the blond who looked up to see Glyndia floating down, and for a brief moment, it felt that he was also looking at him as well and he would not deny that he got a shiver down his spine.

 _'I have found the knight and the pawn. Now I just need a few more pieces to combat the queen.'_

* * *

0-0-0-0

* * *

Hello there, I am back with a second idea. This time it is closer to the show's universe, but I decided to throw in some elements from the light novel Chrome Shelled Regios and a bit of other bits from other fics I have read. The idea is Jaune is from a smaller kingdom not well known to the others and is one of the stronger fighters of the kingdom. Unlike Layfon, Jaune did not go into those underground matches, rather because he is the only fighter from the lower class to be considered one of the best and those in the upper sects do not like the idea of the lower class gaining recognition despite of their efforts to be recognized. I am thinking of introducing his past through flashbacks that will tell of his rise to fame and how one final act of saving got him recognition from everyone but backlash from the upper groups that would force him out of his home.

One of the ideas I am using based on others I have read is the part on Ozpin being more sinister and somewhat manipulative, similar to the person in the light novel. Here he would be actively trying to get the strength Jaune possesses for his own agendas, and in a sense, he is more cold in his thinking that people are pieces on the chess board. Glyndia would be more human and would at times question his actions while providing some means of support to Jaune and his friends.

On another note, I am thinking of starting a different melting pot that would likely be M-rated due to potential dark themes, adult themes, violence or gore, just so we can separate from this.

For now, please R-&-R, I would like some opinions for my second RWBY concept which is very rough. Let me know if you want more one-shot ideas of this or perhaps a fully story.

And I put my pen down for now.


	4. Bearer of the Legendary Weapons - Part 1

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

* * *

 **Date Published:** 3rd September 2017

 **Title:** Bearer of the Legendary Weapons

 **Genre:** Canon AU, slight mystery involved. Challenge by dracohalo117

 **Status:** Published as full-fledged story

 **Description:**

 _Jaune wanted to emulate the heroes of old, and especially his grandfather, uncle and eldest sister who had encouraged him to take his dream to Beacon. What he did not realize was how big of a change he would make the moment he laid his hands on some armaments._

0-0-0-0

Fate can be a very fickle thing for different individuals. Ask them what they think of fate and you would get many answers.

For one group of people, it suggests the inevitably of things to come, something that is predetermined by some outside forces. Something that cannot be worked around in spite of any and all effort to do so.

For a second group, it is often used with the word 'destiny', where the user in question will take an active role in a set of predetermined events, provided the person is willing to take the plunge.

And then we have those who have heard of their fates, told of their inevitability and how they should accept it. These are the ones who decided that they will still decide their fates to be made by their own hands no matter the cost, and they managed to do so, often achieving great things in life and reaching the pinnacle of their success, or to perish alone on a hill of blades, betrayed by one's beliefs.

The lesson in this: One can never and in some cases, should not use fate as a way of justifying the means to the end of a task. One does not presume that fate dictates your actions or that you can't do anything about it.

Because one can never tell when life decides to throw a curve ball in your midst and alter your fate in a different manner.

=()=

Jaune would like to think that he thought of everything not related to Hunters.

Firstly, he knew that his sisters would want him to bring along the bunny onesie, his younger sisters wanting it to be an item to remember them by, while his elder sisters want to pull off one last prank on him, which was why he created a secret pocket in his bag at the last moment to ensure that he had one set of normal pajamas when sleeping, thus ensuring he would not be an embarrassment to the public, only reserving it for the room where he would sleep in the future.

Secondly, Jaune took his sister's advice and got some air sickness pills to take before going on board the airship headed to Beacon as she had a feeling that Jaune would be so nervous that he might throw up in the airship. That certainly spared him the troubles of his stomach and not lose his lunch, and more importantly, the absolute embarrassment he would have obtained like the one guy who vomited all over some hot blonde's shoes, sending her and a younger girl screaming. In that sense, he was able to make a better impression when he went to help the younger girl out after she got herself blown up somehow, thus leading to a relatively good, if not embarrassing to him, meeting with her older half-sister who clearly enjoyed his reactions to her appearance and flirting.

Thirdly, he got the full nine hours of sleep to obtain the necessary energy needed for the initiation, unwittingly giving him an opportunity to get some good breakfast and chat with one energetic girl who seemed to have one major motor mouth and her almost catatonic partner who looked ready to hit the coffin. He hoped to be able to meet them later.

Lastly and by far one of the most important moments of his life, he followed the instructions of his uncle and his eldest sister to _not_ follow his father's advice about women liking confidence. On that front he was eternally grateful to those two as he was able to somewhat hold a short, if not tensed conversation with that white-haired girl and another brief one with the beautiful red-head who was apparently someone famous that he recognized from the cereal that he and his sisters ate back home.

It was that advice which made him firmly believe was the reason he was still alive as he got saved from becoming a bloody smear on the ground by the one and only Pyrrha Nikos who threw her spear with such accuracy it pinned him to the tree. Once she came to help him off the tree they continued to complete the initiation, all while having a light talk about each other's hobbies and bits of personal history. It was also thanks to her that he finally obtained Aura, something that was apparently indispensable for all Hunters and something that he woefully hated his father for not telling him about amongst other matters.

And thus, they found themselves in front of a huge cave made in the face of the small mountain they encountered.

"You think this is it?" Jaune turned to the red-headed girl next to him as he gestured to the cave opening.

"I am not sure if this is the place." Pyrrha looked uncertain as she looked at the opening while gesturing at the wall paintings next to them depicting several humans fighting off a giant scorpion. "The Headmaster said that we are looking for a temple, this looks more like a cavern. And I don't think the markings are for show." She turned back to him with a slightly uneasy expression. "I think we need to keep moving." Jaune bit a lip as he looked at the wall paintings before alternating his eyes between his partner and the entrance.

In another life, he would have foolishly suggested to go inside, ignoring whatever warnings there were and likely get himself pummeled to the ground or thrown to some far-off place, maybe with his luck be at some actual ruins and likely collide with someone midway.

But after hearing some stories from his uncle, grandfather and his eldest sister about the dangers of the world and how some of their Hunter companions lost their limbs or lives, and taking into account his lack of ability, he would heed the advice of a more experienced fighter.

"Okay, I think you got a point." Pyrrha visibly sagged with relief at his agreement. "But that just leaves us with a bit of problem. We still need to find this temple and fast." Jaune gestured with his thumb at the dark clouds. "Looks like a storm is coming."

"Well then, we should make haste." No sooner Pyrrha said that, the clap of thunder roared around them, making them clamp down on their ears while wincing from the ringing. A second later a lightning bolt struck the hillside, destroying parts of the mountain and raining boulders on the both of them. Pyrrha tried to move away but the suddenness of the lightning bolt and the resulting power that shook the earth forced her to ground, leaving her open to the boulders heading her way.

"Pyrrha watch out!" Jaune grabbed her and pulled her back in time to avoid one particularly big boulder that smashed the ground where she stood and embedded itself deeply. Without further ado, he made to bring her back to the entrance and held her tightly against the wall while using himself as a shield to protect her from the rocks.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out as she struggled to be free and to stop him from hurting himself.

"Just hold on!" Jaune winced in pain as some of the rocks hit his armour, the impact managing to make his back plates dig into his back but ensuring none hit his head from the odd angles. It did not take long for the landslide of rocks to stop, but the result was the accumulation of debris that sealed them off from their freedom.

"Are you okay, Pyrrha?" Jaune slowly released his hold on her and looked at her in concern at her expression of fear, shock and something else.

"I… I am fine Jaune. Just a little shaken." Pyrrha spoke a little softly while looking slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed with a red face. "And Jaune, could you… you can let me go now?" It was at that point that Jaune realized their positions and the manner he had one arm wrapped around her waist protectively while the other was against the wall for supporting his body, thus putting them in close proximity with one another. With the few rays of light shining through the gaps of the blockade, Jaune could not help but notice her lightly curved face with pale skin, luscious red hair that seemed to flow naturally over his arm and emerald eyes that gleamed like actual gemstones. He could not help but note that she was a very beautiful girl…

And the fact that he was pining her against a rock wall and thus unwittingly feeling her body against his own.

' _I thank the Lord that Coral isn't here, she would tease me to the end of time.'_

"I am so sorry!" Jaune quickly removed his arm around her and moved away a few steps to give her some room, scratching the back of his head while feeling the blood rush to his head. "I did not mean to be so close to you, I was trying to make sure no rocks hit you!"

"It is okay. Thank you." Pyrrha assured him while lightly moving a stray strand of hair out of the way, making the gesture very cute to Jaune. She looked to the closed off entrance with a frown. "Well I don't think we can get out that way."

"Not for now at least." Jaune winced at the sound of the thunder clapping and the rain now coming through the gaps of the rocks. "For the time being, we would have to stay put or try to find another way out. Hopefully the storm ends by then."

"I suppose so." Pyrrha sighed before looking at him woefully. "Looks like we end up exploring the cave after all."

"Looks that way." Jaune shrugged as he set about making a quick torch out of the few pieces of wood that got broken by the boulders and landed near them. In no time he was able to make two torches for the both of them, greatly increasing their vision in the dimming light.

"Thank you, you are pretty quick in making these." Pyrrha complemented him as she took the torch handed to her.

"I spent a bit of time in the outdoors with my grandpa." Jaune spoke as he adjusted his armour and weapon. "He tends to give me tips on surviving the outside world, though it was not fully related to Hunter training. Still at least he helps me a lot in my life, alongside my uncle and eldest sister."

"Let's see." Jaune closed his eyes as he focused his senses and his mind for a moment. "Okay there should be another opening somewhere else. This type of cave should have multiple openings elsewhere."

"Another tip from your personal survival school?" Pyrrha asked as she checked her equipment.

"My eldest sister." Jaune nodded as he lifted his torch and checked the ceiling for leaks. "If the paintings are correct, a creature of that size should have another escape route in the event this one is closed off. That much is certain."

"I see. How about your father? Any tips he gave you for this situation?" The moment those words left her mouth, Pyrrha knew she screwed up badly as she watched a shadow cover Jaune's face as all expression left it. He paused for a moment before walking into the darkness.

"He did not bother teaching me anything useful." Jaune spoke in an emotionless tone as he continued on. Pyrrha felt her heart gripped tightly in shame as she noted the underlying bitterness present in his words. There was no other way of saying it, but clearly, he had a very strained relationship with his father and he made it very clear that he did not wish to talk about it. She silently followed him into the cave, slowly walking about the area to avoid slipping into the many puddles that gathered. After a while she plucked up the courage and walked a little ahead of him before turning and facing him in the eye.

"I'm sorry." She bowed her head deeply as she apologized. After a few seconds she heard Jaune let out a resigned sigh.

"It is not your fault, you did not know about my situation." Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder to get her to look up. "If anything, I am the one who must apologize. I did not mean for you to see me like that, and I must remember that having these types of feelings around these parts is bad news since Grimm would love to have a taste of this blonde scraggly guy with a side seasoning of negative emotions." Jaune waved his hand flamboyantly as he flicked his hair. The manner he did it made Pyrrha cupped her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle the laughter that was emitting from her mouth, but she soon let her hand drop to her stomach as she let it all out, her laughter sounding like chimes in the cave.

"I think there should be some spices needed to be used for cooking in your case." She managed to speak after taking a few breaths.

"I believe you would know that." Jaune remarked with a smirk. "Despite popular belief, I do not taste like chicken even if you try to catch me like a bird of prey with your weapon."

"I am not going to be let off on that huh?" Pyrrha rolled her eyes in good humor.

"Nope~" Jaune replied while extending the 'p'. The both of them looked at each other before letting out another laugh, their earlier mood now lifted.

'ROOOARRR!'

The sound of a huge creature letting out a bellow in the cave put an end to their laughter and looked to the origin with pale faces. "Pyrrha, please tell me that was your stomach?" Jaune asked with a nervous tone as he gripped the torch tighter while grabbing the handle of his sword.

"Only if you tell me that was actually your stomach?" Pyrrha jabbed the end of her torch into the cracks of the wall and grabbed her weapons.

"Sorry, it is not my stomach." Jaune gulped as he did the same actions as her. "You know what I am feeling now?"

"Soul crushing regret?" Pyrrha quipped. The sounds of something huge and heavy started to fill the silence of the cave, the enclosed space making it echo louder and seemingly heavier.

"Yup~" Jaune said as the sounds got closer and harder. But it seemed that the creature coming their way was too heavy for the ground to support its weight, because cracks started to appear and widen on its approach. When it seemed that it was about to close in on them, the ground completely broke apart and taken the two of them by complete surprise and unprepared for what to come next.

"OH SHIT!" Jaune yelled loudly as the ground gave out below them and they found themselves plunging down to the cavern that was evidently at the bottom of the mountain. They did not freefall for too long as they hit a gentle slope and started to slide down rapidly somewhere. Before they could take the time to orientate themselves, the slope beneath them ran out and they hit the ground hard.

"GAH!" Jaune let out a pained grunt as he gingerly got up from the ground. "Damn it I am going to be feeling that in the morning." He looked around using the after-glow from the remains of his torch and started to panic at not finding Pyrrha around. "Pyrrha, are you there?!"

"Here!" He turned around and immediately felt relieved at seeing her having landed in a relatively soft patch of dirt. Looks like she had a fair amount of luck on her side.

"Are you okay?" Jaune mentally berated himself for asking that in a situation like this, but it seemed that Pyrrha did not mind as she wobbled slightly while getting up.

"I will live." Pyrrha winced as a bone popped loudly in the cavern. "A little sore in the back but I can move."

"That's good." Jaune looked up and around with a frown. "Weird to think that this opened up to another cave."

"The ground seemed to be quite unstable. I guess the earlier lightning strike may have weakened it and the creature from earlier did the rest by pounding on the ground." Pyrrha said now being able to stand on her two feet without looking unsteady. "I guess we should count ourselves a little lucky that we are just at the bottom of some cavern, rather than dealing with whatever it was up there."

"You don't think it is here with us, right now?" Jaune looked at the shadows with a wary eye as though he was expecting the creature to jump out from them.

"I don't think we have to worry about that, it was still a fair bit away from us when the ground collapsed so it is likely still up there but not moving." Pyrrha assured him as she dusted herself. "And if it were with us, it would have made a fair amount of racket to get out of this rock pile."

"I see." Jaune let out a sigh before frowning as he touched his side. "Oh crap."

"What's wrong?"

"I dropped my weapons when we fell." Jaune cursed as he tried to search the area with the limited light he could get from the small flame. "Considering the creature that is in the caves, I am going to be a sitting duck at this rate."

"Okay, let me help you with that." Pyrrha looked at her side and started to shift some of the rocks, subtly using her Semblance of polarity to find his weapon. "If I might comment, you are the only person I know outside of Mistral who uses such a classic weapon. Even for those in my home, very few solely use a sword or a spear without some form of firearms."

"It belonged to my great-great-grandfather, passed down to my grandpa." Jaune moved some of the bigger rocks while grunting from the effort. "Calling it a classic is a bit of an understatement, it was one of the first-generation weapons to feature some form of moving mechanisms that you see in current Hunter Weapons, and it was used during the Great War."

"Wait, the same Great War where the four kingdoms fought one another?" Pyrrha paused in her search to look at him in disbelief. "But that is roughly seventy years ago, no weapon should be able to last that long!"

"Well this one did." Jaune shrugged before continuing his search. "What little I know about it, weapons from that period were made with a special ore that resists rust and metal deterioration, and Crocea Mors had another ore that can handle huge impacts and actually strength its properties, so the combination works well." Pyrrha let out a light whistle of admiration for the blacksmith of that period and wondered if she could get those ores for her weapon.

Whatever thoughts they had were put on hold at the sounds of some clicking that echoed in the cavern. They turned to find small eyes of red glaring back at them, with more appearing by the minute.

"Oh crud!" Jaune backed away while grabbing the torch. He would have to make do with the torch while he tried to find his weapons. Pyrrha however had other ideas as she went ahead of him and held up her spear.

"Jaune, go and find your weapons while I hold them off!" She yelled out as the first creature came out to the light. The Grimm that came before them was some arthropod centipede with scythes for legs, alternating colored body segments of black and white and its mandibles seemed to be glistening with some type of acidic saliva as drops of it dripped to the ground and started to eat through the dirt while spewing smoke. Glowing eyes of crimson peeked through the white masks as the Grimm let out a hissing sputter with its mandibles.

"Great, just what we needed. Acidic bugs." Jaune grumbled as he shifted the rocks faster to find his weapon. It was more than just protecting himself right now, he needed to help Pyrrha in whatever way he could.

Pyrrha started to engage the Grimm in close quarters, using her shield to block the bladed legs and the mandibles, taking extra care to ensure the acid did not touch her bare skin. Her claim of being the four-time Mistral champion was certainly not an empty boast as she was able to switch between offense and defense in a split second while utilizing her multi-form weapon to its best capabilities by alternating all of the forms.

From his angle, Jaune could see that the creature was favoring the right side of its face, using its giant feelers to swipe at Pyrrha while keeping her from hitting the left. When it turned to avoid a strike, he could see in the dim lighting that it seemed to be having issues looking at her from that side.

"Pyrrha, keep attacking the left side of its body! It can't see well there!" Jaune called out to her while throwing a huge rock at the creature to draw its attention, thus exposing the weak side to Pyrrha. She took note and fired off a few rounds at that side of the face, making it hiss in agony and bumping its body against the cavern walls. Jumping to avoid the feeler aimed at her, Pyrrha switched her weapon form back into a spear and viciously stabbed it into the eye, causing it to roar out angrily and twisting its body in an attempt to shake her off, which was successful while causing the ground to rumble greatly.

"Shit!" Jaune lost his footing and slipped to the ground, dropping the torch and unfortunately gaining the attraction of the Grimm which hissed at him and pushed forward, ignoring the shots given by Pyrrha in a futile attempt to attract its attention.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out to him as the Grimm got closer. Jaune shuffled and scrambled on all fours, his eyes focused on the creature that was opening and closing its mouth quickly.

 _'I need a weapon! I need a weapon! I need a weapon! I need...'_

His thoughts got interrupted when his hand touched smooth steel and wrapped around it. Without thinking about it, Jaune swung just as the Grimm leapt forward with its mouth opened wide, ready to swallow him whole.

 _'Shring!'_

The sound of cold steel slicing through the air was soon followed by the painful roars of the Grimm as it thrashed violently all over the place with half of its right mandible and feelers removed rather brutally. Jaune got to his feet and brandished the weapon before him, now taking note of the item he had in his hand. And he frowned lightly at the sight.

' _This is not my weapon.'_

The weapon in question was a sword of a rather simple and somewhat unusual design. Its hilt was basically a long handle with a pointed pommel and an oddly shaped cross-guard that seemingly covered the entirety of the back and a good portion of the single-edged blade. The fuller had odd angled designs that separated the covering from the black edge of the sword, giving the weapon the overall look of a blade that was designed for heavy strikes.

"Jaune, look out!" His observations got stopped by Pyrrha who yelled as the creature stopped its thrashing and was now looking at him with distinct anger in its eyes. It let out a roar and lunged at him, now intent on crushing him instead of eating him. With a yell, he jumped to one side to avoid the hit, but got thrown back from the aftershock.

 _'Okay, got to make this work!'_ Jaune rolled a few times before coming to a clumsy stop, getting into a kneeling position while gripping the handle with both hands. Unknowingly for the both of them, the blade started to glow lightly in the cavern. The centipede Grimm wheeled around from its side and set about to attack. Jaune was about to move when a light tugging at the back of his head made him pause, as though to wait for the right opportunity. Then as though someone flipped a switch in his head, the Grimm seemed to slow down and for whatever reason, the color scheme seemed to switch to reveal vein-like patterns all around its body, with odd spots glowing a bright red. Without a thought, Jaune leaped forward and stabbed the blade deeply into one of those spots.

"RRRRHHHGGYYYYAAA!'

The Grimm let out a terrifying screech of agony as it tried to throw Jaune off. With a grunt, Jaune pushed the blade even further into its body while hanging on for dear life. With a final roar, the Grimm crashed to the ground and laid still, its eyes now losing the glow and the body starting to disintegrate. Jaune let out a sigh as he pulled the sword out of it and jumped off it, but he was not given reprieve as Pyrrha came over, grabbed his collar, and proceeded to pull him away quickly.

"Whoa!"

"Hold on a minute, I got to blow up the walls first!" Pyrrha temporarily lifted him and threw him to the far side before turning around and firing off a round at some raw deposits of dust in the wall, detonating them and demolishing that portion of the wall and parts of the ceiling, thus blocking them off from the Grimm that were just about to launch themselves at them.

"... Is it safe?" Jaune asked quietly, not wanting to move from his spot.

"We are okay now." Pyrrha let out a tired sigh as she leaned against the wall. "God, I want this initiation over with and get to bed."

"You have my vote on that." Jaune got up from his spot and moved slowly to her.

"I did not hurt you just now, did I?" Pyrrha turned to him with a concerned look.

"Nah, the Grimm was giving me more pain." Jaune winced as he felt one of his bones popped back into position with his Aura. He was really thankful for the unlocking by Pyrrha. "That was like riding one of the stable horses back home. That guy was a rough one."

"Still I am sorry for throwing you without warning. There was no time." Pyrrha bowed her head in shame.

"Hey at least you are able to keep them away from us now." Jaune assured her while placing his hands on her shoulders. "I think you may have taken them all out, as for me I could only take on one." That seemed to perk her up a little as she started to smile lightly.

"You say that, but you were the one who took on that creature when I couldn't." She paused as she looked at the sword in his hand. "That is not your weapon. Where did you get that?"

"Found it when I was running from that centipede Grimm." Jaune lifted the blade and looked at it. "I am just grateful that this guy is around and that it is still sharp enough to kill Grimm."

"Hmm~" Pyrrha lifted a finger and lightly touched the black edge of the sword before flinching back in pain. "Ow!"

"Pyrrha?!"

"I am fine. You were not kidding about its sharpness." Pyrrha lifted her hand to reveal a deep cut in her finger, her blood dripping from the wound.

"Oh no, hang on." Without hesitation, Jaune took her hand and brought it to his mouth, sucking on the finger and repeatedly spitting out the blood.

"Erm... Jaune?"

"Hang on Pyrrha, we got to make sure none of the rust gets into the bloodstream." Jaune remembered what happened to one of his younger sisters when she got cut with a rusty piece of fencing, it was a hellish afternoon as she got a high fever and the family scrambled to get a doctor to cure her.

"Erm... I can use my Aura actually?" Pyrrha's words broke his concentration and left him still sucking on her finger.

 _'Huh?'_

Pyrrha slowly pulled her finger from his mouth and showed the light glow of Aura from her closing wound, leaving behind a light bruise and a trail of saliva that came from his mouth.

"My Aura can heal this cut and deal with the rust issue." Pyrrha said softly with a huge blush on her face, "and erm... You can let go now?" Once again, Jaune found himself in another embarrassing situation where he basically took the finger of a girl and sucked it.

' _Now I am glad my uncle is not here, he would certainly use this to great effect on me.'_

"I am so sorry!" Jaune released his hold on her hand and got down on his knees while lowering his head to the ground. "I did not mean to, I just remembered about my little sister getting cut and I just reacted!"

"It... It is okay, Jaune!" Pyrrha stammered as she attempted to calm him down. "It was a good gesture and..." She looked away with another blush. "It was nice."

' _Okay, I am sooooo~ glad none of my elder sisters, my uncle and especially my grandpa are here to see this.'_

"I see." Jaune got up from the ground and looked around awkwardly, thinking of a topic to dispel the situation. Thankfully she got one.

"So how did you kill the Grimm? Aside from the earlier weakness you told me, I could not get my shots through." Pyrrha asked curiously. Jaune thought for a moment to the part where he saw the weird crimson spots and veins along the body, then recalled the moment when the vision passed and Pyrrha's earlier tussle.

"There were odd indentations and cracks that run along the armor. It seemed to flinch when even a pebble hit them, so I figured it must be sensitive there. I honestly did not think it was that fragile, I barely stabbed the sword in." Jaune answered as he thought of his answer. Best to not let her know about the odd vision he saw.

"I see. That is some good observation." Pyrrha praised him much to his embarrassment. "Good thing this sword was there to help." She motioned to the blade.

"Yeah." Jaune looked at it while shifting it slightly to get better lighting. He paused as his thumb felt something and held the blade differently to look at it. "Huh, this guy has some inscriptions on it."

"What does it say?" Pyrrha got closer to peer at it, unintentionally for him to smell the hint of lavender from her hair. Shaking his head from the random thoughts, he looked at the scripts that was etched in old Valean symbols. He was a little rusty with his translation, but if his lessons with his grandfather were correct, it said...

"Crimson Blitz." The moment the words left his mouth, Jaune could have sworn that the weapon seemingly hummed in response while the hair on the back of his neck stood up lightly. Then for whatever reason, the blade seemed to glow briefly before reconfiguring itself to a form more fitting of his figure with a shorter handle and the blade portion more obvious to him.

"Did it just reset itself?" Pyrrha blinked as she looked at the weapon with narrowed eyes. "Did you find the button to make it compact?"

"I don't think so, I don't see any button on this." Jaune held up the blade and looked around it to find no such item. "Maybe as you said, the sword reset itself. I guess after all these years, the mechanisms must be a little rusty and with that fighting we did, the sword just went to this state. Hopefully this does not happen too much, but I would like my weapons back."

"Hmm~" Pyrrha hummed as she looked around before pausing. "Oh there we go, I think I found it!" She moved to one pile of rocks and shifted some of the looser ones to reveal the familiar guard of Crocea Mors.

"Yes!" Jaune came forward to where she was. "Thank you very much Pyr!" He said as he turned to start removing the rocks from his weapon, thus missing the blushing Pyrrha had from his nickname of her. It took a while but he was able to get it out and inspect it for damage.

"Phew~ glad it is not damaged." Jaune activated the mechanisms and checked it thoroughly. "Gramps would have my head if this got busted."

"Glad you got it back." Pyrrha petted his shoulder before looking to the side. "Well, it would seem that the explosion might have done something better than just trapping the Grimm." She pointed somewhere down the cavern where Jaune could spy a light coming at the end of it. "I think it loosened the rocks enough that they fell off the other side."

"Then let's not waste time." Jaune said as he picked up what looked to be a worn-out sheath and slide the sword through. Surprisingly it fitted rather well and there was a good enough strap for him to sling to his body. That was a bit of good luck to have after the crap he went through.

But he got distracted when Pyrrha's voice called out to him.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha pointed to an area of the cavern with one hand over her mouth, her hand clearly shaking from something that shocked her. With a bit of trepidition, Jaune moved the torch to her to get better lighting to see what it was that made her this way. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Before them in the light of the torch, rows upon rows of skeletons lined the walls of the area they were in, each clad in armor and holding on to different types of weaponry. Littered on the ground were more skeletons in similar garb, but with them being strewn all over the area with limbs or heads missing and with gaping holes in armors. The sight seemed to stretched all the way to the opening, giving off the grim impression of a last stand.

"I think we are in a catacomb." Pyrrha looked around them with a hint of fear in her voice. "There are several in Mistral, but I never encountered one of this scale in my life!"

"That's not the only thing." Jaune shone his torch back from where they came, highlighting the broken columns and bricks that were now visible in the light. "I get the feeling that we are in some old city that used to be here before Beacon and got buried beneath all the rocks." Jaune lightly gripped the handle of the sword he had acquired, now feeling the true weight of it. "And if I am not wrong, the city got attacked by the Grimm."

"I think you are right." Pyrrha pointed to some of the more intact skeletons laying on the floor, with armor pierced with the same sharp legs the centipede Grimm had. "We were not the first ones to encounter those creatures. I guess the guards had to fend them off but failed."

"Then..." Jaune unsheathed and raised Crimson Blitz to his eye, peering at the reflection on it. "This is..."

"I am guessing a weapon used by one of the guards." Pyrrha nodded with a solemn expression. Jaune looked to the blade with a new found respect and sorrow, feeling somewhat unworthy to wield this weapon. As if she was reading his thoughts, Pyrrha placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, I think you should hang on to that for now."

"What?" Jaune looked to her with slight disbelief. "I am not sure if I should take this with me, it belonged to someone else!" He looked back to the weapon with slight discomfort. "I don't feel worthy of this."

"Normally I would advise to put the weapon back where it should be as well, but I believe in this situation, we can make an exception." Pyrrha paused before continuing. "I don't mean to be rude, but currently I feel the sword actually fits you better than Crocea Mors."

"Huh?"

"I mean no offence, but there is a clear difference in the manner you handled both weapons. With Crocea Mors, you seemed to be struggling with both the defense and offense, and your stance is off by a fair bit. I would think you do not have much if no training in that aspect of fighting." Pyrrha said while unintentionally sending arrows into Jaune's already fragile pride and heart. "But with Crimson Blitz, you seem to have some form of control and with that quick thinking of yours, you are able to get the targets quickly. I am guessing your training involved just using a sword and mostly dodging?"

"Well..." Jaune paused as he thought of the few times his grandfather, uncle and his eldest sister tried to train him in various styles, and for the most part it was as she said, not to mention his lack of training and the odd feeling he had when wielding Crimson Blitz, "That is actually pretty accurate. I only started with the shield portion only recently, my grandpa insisted I learned how to dodge attacks first before using a shield."

"I see." Pyrrha nodded lightly. "I believe that for the time being, you should hang on to the weapon. I mean no disrespect to the previous owner, but as it is, Crimson Blitz has no one to wield it, and I would like to think that it would be happy to have someone using it again after so long."

"You really think so?" Jaune asked with a hint of confusion.

"In Mistral, there is a tradition and a bit of superstition that weapons are meant to be used for fighting and to fulfill the last wishes of the user." She motioned with her hand with a solemn expression. "Although they have fought to protect the city, I imagine that they would have some form of regrets. In some parts of Mistral, weapons belonging to some of the old fighters were given to another group if they have both the aptitude and same wishes as the previous users."

"I think for this case, the previous user of that sword would not mind you using it."

Jaune looked at her for a moment before directing his attention back to the sword, looking at his reflection and thinking on her words. He was a little uncertain about taking a weapon from someone, let alone one that had died a few years ago, but he could understand the reasoning for it. Right now he would need whatever edge he could get.

"Okay." He nodded slowly and turned to Pyrrha who was now smiling at him. "Just let me do one thing before we moved on." Handing her the torch, Jaune walked a bit away from her before lightly stabbing the sword into the ground and bowing his head, trying to recall what his grandfather and uncle said for certain events.

"I know not your names, nor of your past, but this I promise. When we finish our tasks, we will alert the academy of your presence so as to grant you a proper resting place and hopefully a true passage to the heavens above. Perhaps I might return this weapon to your comrade, but until then I wish to wield it in his place. It would not mean much to you, but this I swear upon my name as an Arc." Jaune spoke the words while remembering what his grandfather had spoken at his friend's passing before bowing his head lower in respect. After a quiet moment, he raised his head and picked up Crimson Blitz, sheathing it on his back and turned to find Pyrrha also paying her respects to the deceased around them. She opened her eyes and smiled gently at him.

"I think they would appreciate that greatly." Pyrrha said as they walked side by side to the opening. Jaune nodded in silence as he looked at her, and for a brief moment, he thought both Crocea Mors and Crimson Blitz hummed in agreement. And thus they moved on, not realizing of what happened in that one moment they paid their respects to the long forgotten.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have seen a small ball of light coming from where they came and melding into Crimson Blitz, glowing a light green briefly before dimming.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have noted some of the other weapons behind them were glowing lightly with an array of colors.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have seen the skulls of the deceased lightly turning towards Jaune, with an unearthly glow of colors seen through their empty eye sockets.

But they did not do so.

And so, with this one event and action, Jaune had unknowingly altered his fate and that of his future companions.

But that would be for later. Right now, Jaune had an initiation to complete.

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Hello there, here's a new idea for the T-Rated think-tank. This one comes courtesy of **dracohalo117** , a guy who has a great story called 'Overcoming Darkness'. He has a challenge written on his profile that talks about Jaune getting a weapon during initiation and there will be pros and cons to getting it. I asked him for permission and created this.

To be fair, I have written a lot more, but since this is still an idea, I cut it off where I believe might make a decent cliffhanger of a prologue. Hopefully this is good enough to entice you.

Oh, and for those following, you may have noticed me putting a disclaimer, this is for precaution. Some of the good writers I know got their works removed on the basis of not putting disclaimers, so I do this in case.

So please review, and let me know if you want more one-shots of this or perhaps a full story.

And I put my pen down for now.


	5. Bearer of the Legendary Weapons - Part 2

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

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 **Date Published:** 8th September 2017

 **Title:** Bearer of the Legendary Weapons - Chapter 2

 **Genre:** Canon AU, slight mystery involved. Challenge by dracohalo117

 **Status:** Published as full-fledged story

 **Description:**

 _Jaune wanted to emulate the heroes of old, and especially his grandfather, uncle and eldest sister who had encouraged him to take his dream to Beacon. What he did not realize was how big of a change he would make the moment he laid his hands on some armaments._

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It took a while to get to the opening and widened it enough to squeeze through, but once they were able to move past that obstacle, Jaune and Pyrrha were pleased to see that their near-death experience was actually a fortune in disguise as the weather had cleared up and they spotted their true objective just a few feet away from them. They looked at each other with a smile before making their way to the temple in question.

"Well this is a welcome change." Pyrrha spoke as they broke through the ring of trees and started to walk to the ruins.

"No kidding, I could use some relaxation after that craziness in the cavern." Jaune nodded as he adjusted the two swords on his body. It was odd really; while Crocea Mors felt alien to him, the other blade was strangely familiar and comfortable, as though he had been carrying it with him his entire life. Maybe it was some sub-conscious thinking on his part, likely due to the fight he had with the Grimm earlier, but he felt that this was a weapon he could get used to faster despite it being another sword.

He would have to think about it later.

"Hey there, Jauney!" Jaune's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a familiar voice. He turned to find the blonde bombshell waving at him while a black-haired girl who he presumed to be her partner stood a little away from her. "Missed me?"

"Hey Yang!" Jaune called out to her while waving his arm. It did not take long for the two of them to walk up to her who proceeded to step forward and slung an arm around his neck, using the other to mess up his hair with a cheeky grin.

"Looks like someone went through the blender, you must have fought your hardest?" She spoke cheerfully, but Jaune could tell with his years of talking to his sisters that there was a light tone of concern hidden beneath her bravado and there was something akin to worry in her lilac eyes as she looked at some of the blood and tears.

"We got into a spot of trouble on the way and it was quite a hassle." Jaune lightly tapped her arm awkwardly in his position, not wanting to accidentally touch her inappropriately. "But we came out on top and the best part was the shortcut we ended up taking to get here.

"Lucky you, I am guessing that you were able to get out of the storm earlier." Yang released him, her eyes now shining without concern. "We got held up and had to make a pit-stop for the rain to clear. You two just got here within a few minutes of us arriving."

"It did not help with Ursas and Beowolves after us." The black-haired girl spoke for the first time, her amber and oddly cat-like eyes looking at them closely while gesturing at Yang. "One of them cut her hair a bit and she sent it flying into the pack with one punch before going to town on them."

"That monster ruined my beautiful hair!" Yang cradled her hair like she was handling fine china while growling. "That thing was lucky that I could not use my more explosive rounds or it would be a huge smear on the ground!" Jaune found himself slightly pitying the Grimm she encountered, remembering the times his sisters reacted badly when their hair got stained or cut roughly. Especially his eldest sister Marianne, whom threw such a fit when her hair got cut drastically short by an Ursa during one of her trips, she saw it fitting that she should decimate the entire forest worth of Grimm, and she was extremely thorough in her execution.

Atlas had wanted to reward her generously by offering triple her pay. Her only request was for a beauty parlor to fix her hair, and that took a while.

"Erm, Jaune?" Jaune turned to face Pyrrha who looked a little out of her element with their conversation. Jaune smacked his head at forgetting about his partner and set about righting it.

"Sorry Pyrrha, I got carried away there." He motioned his hand at her while turning to Yang and her partner. "My name is Jaune Arc, and this is my partner, Pyrrha Nikos. She's… apparently someone famous?" Jaune turned to her with a confused expression to which she responded with a good-natured smile and chuckle. She still could not believe her luck that she would be able to find someone who only knew her by the god-awful cereal she helped to promote, and she was ever so grateful that he did not care about her achievements.

"Hey there, the name is Yang Xiao Long. Ass-kicking extraordinaire and all-round beauty!" Yang spread her arms with a wide smile before gesturing to the dark themed girl. "And this quiet gal is my partner, Blake Belladonna."

"If you want to stay partners, I would suggest getting your relics over there." Blake did not acknowledge the introduction and merely pointed to the patio where Jaune spied several chess pieces on an old chessboard. "I suspect they will determine both your partnership and your teammates."

"Oh I see. Thank you for your advice Blake." Jaune nodded before the two of them made their way to the relics, pausing briefly to pat Yang on the shoulder lightly at seeing her pout at Blake for ruining her introduction. The blonde girl looked at him briefly before dropping the pout and smiling again. They did not take long to pick since Pyrrha was fine with whatever he would take so he choose the 'Rook' piece, noting a few other chess pieces were missing. Guess they were not the first ones to appear.

"So, this is miss Pumpkin Pete in the flesh huh?" Yang looked at Pyrrha as she walked around her with a cursory eye. "I must admit, you are a lot taller than what I was told."

"Erm, thank you?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, not knowing if she was being complemented.

"Hmmm~" Yang looked back at Jaune with a smirk that resembled that of his older sisters when they were about to pull a teasing frenzy "She is quite the looker. Are you planning to upgrade from my sister and I to Pyrrha here? Jauney, I thought we were good friends."

Jaune blushed lightly from her words but had the perfect comeback to that. "We are good friends Yang, and quite frankly, I find it hard to believe that anyone can upgrade from you, considering your looks and all." To his partial satisfaction, Yang blushed lightly with Pyrrha following suit with a heavier blush from his corny words, while Blake had the faintest smirk of amusement at the sight of her partner.

"Oh~ Lover boy has a quick tongue huh?" Yang looked back with a smirk. "Well then, be prepared for war, because I will make sure to leave you 'Yanging' for more." At her attempt of making a pun, Blake palmed her face while shaking her head and muttering something about being stuck with a failed comedian, Pyrrha looked at the two with an odd expression, while Jaune...

'SNORT!'

The girls turned to look at Jaune who covered his mouth to stifle the chuckle that was emitting from his mouth. "Sorry, it was not a good pun, but it is a decent attempt." Jaune struggled to control the laughter that wanted to come out of his mouth. Blake and Pyrrha looked at him with disbelief while Yang looked like Christmas came early.

"You laughed at my pun?" She asked in a slightly hopeful tone. When Jaune nodded his head after containing his laughter, Yang pumped her arms in the air while doing a rather cute victory dance.

"YES~ I finally got someone to laugh at my puns!" She cheered while the other two females looked at her with raised eyebrows. A roar stopped her little celebration and directed their attention to an Ursa that burst out of the tree-line and fell down flat on the ground, looking every bit tired and if possible, having an expression that said it was fricking done with whatever situation it got itself into. That much was apparent when a ginger-haired girl with a white top and pink combat skirt with what looked to be a large grenade launcher strapped to her back popped up from behind and looked at the Ursa with an expression akin to a kid whose toy got broken.

"Aww~ It broke~" The girl podded the Ursa with her finger while looking a little sad. The bush shuffled from behind before another person came out looking extremely worn out. He was a male teenager who gave the impression of being a quiet monk from the temples of Mistral with his long dark hair tied into a long and messy ponytail with a pink streak down the left side of his hair, a green long-sleeved tailcoat and plain tan pants. He certainly gave the feeling of being some sort of martial artist if not for the perpetual look of exhaustion on his face.

"Nora, please... Don't do that again." He panted while resting a hand against the beast. When he did not get a reply, he looked up to find that she had somehow teleported herself to the relics where she looked at them with wide eyes, before grabbing another 'Rook' piece and started to do a dance while singing about how she was the queen of the castle.

"Did she just ride an Ursa all the way here?" Blake asked with disbelief in her voice as she watched the girl somehow playing with the piece while balancing her weapon at the same time, occasionally shifting it into its secondary form that took on a huge hammer.

' _By the gods, she is going to be a handful!'_ Jaune thought as he watched the girl that he recognized as the one he met during breakfast return to Ren with another one of the pieces. Pyrrha seemed to agree with his thoughts as she edged closer to whisper "You do know that she has the same piece as us, right?"

"… We can make it work?" Jaune looked at her with a dubious expression while Yang came along and put a hand on their shoulders.

"Good luck." Yang said with a solemn expression that was marred with a smirk on her face. Jaune could only answer by palming his face and letting out a sigh.

"Do you guys hear something?" Blake interrupted their talk while frowning and looking around the area. "It sounded like someone is screaming from far away."

"I don't hear anything." Pyrrha looked around their side.

"It sounds like it is coming from... above..." Blake looked up before her eyes widened with her mouth wide open. Jaune and Pyrrha looked up at the same time and gasped at the sight of Ruby falling from the sky and at a very fast rate.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Ruby yelled as her arms flayed about trying to slow her descent to the ground.

"Ruby!" The moment Jaune yelled, something seemed to shift in his vision. One moment he was looking at Ruby falling from the clear blue sky, the next he found himself looking at a pale woman with a blood-stained dress and falling through a dark sky ridden with thunder and rain. His feet moved automatically to propel him forward, arms stretched out to catch the woman before she hit the ground. With a yell, he jumped forward to get the necessary momentum to catch her in time, rolling his body to cushion her with it and hitting his head against the tree in the process.

"Jaune!" Ears ringing and blurred vision, Jaune shook his head to rid himself of the stars blocking his sight and found himself cradling a dazed Ruby in her arms. Jaune looked around while wincing from the pain, wondering what happened to the woman he saw.

"Jaune, are you okay?" His thoughts were broken when Pyrrha came forward with Yang following suit, expressions of concern and fright apparent on both their faces. Jaune slowly released his hold on Ruby who seemed to have regain her bearings and was now blushing heavily from the contact. She was soon swept into Yang's arms and hugged tightly by the sister who checked her body for any wounds, while Pyrrha kneeled down next to him to inspect him.

"That is a nasty bump you are sporting, but it seems you don't have any major wounds." Pyrrha looked at his head while gingering touching the part that made contact with the tree, withdrawing her hand when Jaune let out a pained hiss. "Sorry!"

"It's okay, it stings a little. That's all." Jaune used the tree to get up slowly while cradling his head. "I think that hit was a lot harder than I thought, I am seeing double right now."

"I am so sorry, Jaune!" Ruby managed to extradite herself from Yang's tight hold and was now bowing her head many times as she sported an ashamed expression.

"It is fine, but mind telling us why you fell out of the sky at what, a couple of hundred feet?" Jaune paused as a new thought came through his mind. "Wait, where is your partner?"

"Erm..." Ruby slowly lifted her finger at the sky while looking embarrassed. The whole lot of them, including Nora and Ren who came to us during his saving of Ruby, looked up to find the white-haired girl hanging off what had to be the biggest Nevermore he ever laid his eyes on.

"How could you leave me?!" The girl screamed loudly, her words barely heard from their end.

"I said jump, Weiss!" Ruby called out to her.

"You do know she is going to fall, right?" Blake commented from her side.

"She'll be fine." Ruby said that with a not so convincing smile of assurance.

"She is falling." Ren spoke in the flattest tone possible as they watched the heiress dropping from the Nevermore and towards a certain doom. And for the second time in the row, Jaune saw another vision of a person falling through dark skies, this time a younger girl dressed in rags with a stake through her heart. Without realizing it, his body moved once more to get to the figure and he managed to catch her without getting himself hurt.

And immediately after that, his vision cleared to reveal a blushing Weiss in his arms.

 _'Okay, that was weird.'_ Jaune thought as he absentmindedly went through the motions of letting Weiss leave his arms and nodding at her weak attempt at thanking him. He hoped he did not catch something in the caves that was making him see things.

"Well look at you, Lady Killer~ catching girls in the air and all." Yang had that predatory smile of teasing as she walked to him. "You sure know how to make them _fall_ for you, huh?"

"Please tell me your sister is just in the mood for a bad pun fest, and that this will be temporary?" Blake looked to Ruby with a pleading expression with desperation in her eyes. Her hopes were dashed as Ruby shook her head in despondence, while Weiss massaged the bridge of her nose and muttering something about dumb blondes.

'SNORT!' Jaune did not help matters by suppressing another bit of laughter that seemed to encourage Yang to try another pun, while the remaining three looked at the group with a weird eye.

The sounds of trees crashing to the ground stopped the merriment and drew their attention to the tree-line, the sight of which made Jaune and Pyrrha groaned in annoyance. Hissing in agitation, a small legion of centipede Grimm spread themselves around the area, theirs eyes looking at them with both hate and hunger.

"Friends of yours?" Yang asked as she primed her gauntlets.

"More like stalkers." Jaune took Crocea Mors and held them nervously.

"Then what about that one?" Blake pointed at what had to be the biggest Deathstalker one would ever lay eyes on coming from behind the arthropod Grimm, his pincers snapping loudly alongside its mandibles while the tail stood tall with its golden barb shining brightly in the sun. Jaune blinked before looking to Pyrrha, the both of them likely thinking and dreading the same thing.

 _'Damn, maybe it was a good thing the ground gave way before fighting that thing!'_

"Erm, guys?" Ruby raised her hand to point at the Nevermore who had returned and was now hovering above them, its screeching loud enough for them to hear and seemingly rally the other Grimm to attack.

"Great, now we can all die together!" Yang threw her arms in exasperation. Jaune turned to comment when he saw Ruby tensing up and hunching towards the arthropods and the Deathstalker, clearly wanting to charge ahead at them. Once again, Jaune saw another vision appear before him, revealing a young boy in torn shorts carrying a spear and wanting to charge at a group of soldiers that clearly outclassed him in equipment and skill, with a bunch of bodies lying around them. At the sight of the boy taking the first step, Jaune reached out and grabbed hold of the collar, that action seemingly removing the vision to show that he managed to catch Ruby before she could run after them.

"OW! Jaune, why did you stop me?!" Ruby looked to him with a cute pout of defiance only to recoil slightly from the cold fury on his face.

"May I ask what the hell are you thinking? Trying to charge at them on your own, are you bloody nuts?!" Jaune admonished her while maintaining a firm hold on her cloak, feeling an odd amount of righteous anger in him. Weiss who was closer nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, what were you thinking, trying to show off like that?" Weiss scoffed while looking at her.

"I am not trying to show off, I just want to prove to you that I can do this!" Ruby whined but stopped moving.

"Well that is a very childish thought you have." Weiss scolded her before taking a deep breath. "But I suppose I can be a bit..." She turned to look at Jaune with a slightly uncomfortable expression, likely remembering their first interaction, "difficult at times, so I will try to be nicer."

"Thank you!" Ruby cheered as Jaune lowered her down now comfortable that she would not run off alone and not feeling that odd fury anymore. Yang gave him an appreciative nod for stopping her sister before looking to the others. "So, what now?"

"We got what we came for, so I would suggest moving back to the cliff without having to engage the Grimm." Weiss gave her idea while Ruby went to collect their pieces.

"Yeah~ I don't think they will let us go." Yang used her thumb to point at the centipede Grimm.

"Then we need to divide and conquer." Jaune gave a quick glance noting their equipment and evaluating what he knew. "Okay, I have something of a plan. Pyrrha and I had fought those creatures earlier so we know their weak-spots. You two." He pointed at Ren and Nora, "come with us so that we can clear them out quickly. You girls deal with the Nevermore, you have both mobility and firepower."

"And how about that one?" Blake pointed at the big Deathstalker who unlike the other Grimm in the area was actually looking at them calmly with an unsettlingly steady gaze. But for whatever reason, Jaune felt that the Deathstalker was actually staring at _him_ , its pincers moving in time with his body movements as though it was anticipating his next move. It did not react to the others when they were gesturing and it was staying still unnaturally.

"Call it a gut feeling. It won't attack us until we are done with our respective problems." Jaune said with the others looking at him funny. "Correct me if I am wrong, but the amount of armor it has suggests it is a lot older compared to the others, meaning it is a whole lot more intelligent than them?"

"Yes, though I must say that its armor is a lot thicker than what has been recorded." Weiss agreed with his observation. "Coupled with its size, I can't imagine how old that one must be."

"But that does not mean it won't attack us from the start." Blake argued her point. "Grimm will always look for an opportunity to strike."

"True." Jaune nodded his agreement. "But would you rather we fight them all at once or fight them separately if given the chance?" To this, no one could argue with him.

"Okay, let's go and kick some Grimm Butt!" Ruby raised her weapon enthusiastically. Weiss rolled her eyes but raised her weapon to touch her scythe, while Yang and Nora cheered heavily. Ren merely nodded while Blake looked the least enthused of the lot. Pyrrha looked to Jaune with a smile, which he returned with one that was more of a grimace.

 _'Boy, am I glad mum is not going to see this!'_

"Let's go!" With that the group split up, that action seemingly making the Grimm roar out in a challenging volume and go forth to attack them, with the exception of the Deathstalker that merely took a few steps back before settling down on its legs, its eyes still maintaining contact on Jaune.

Well, at least he got something working for him.

"Pyrrha, see if you can replicate what you did back in the caverns. There should be more material here for you to use. Otherwise do hit and run tactics." Jaune told the spartan who nodded as she moved forward.

"Ren, you and I are providing support for both her and Nora. We would need to make sure they don't get overwhelmed." Ren cocked his guns resolutely.

"Nora, you got that grenade launcher. I need to you to make sure not one of those things get behind us or at the others. Anything that get within two feet of you, you either forced it back or blow it to ashes." Jaune stopped Nora who was about to move ahead. "One last thing. If you really can't shoot them, then do one thing with your hammer." Jaune smiled in a manner that could be a little frightening. "Smash." Nora let loose her own scary smile as she twirled her weapon.

"Understood Fearless Leader!" Nora started to laugh like a mad woman as she began layering on the explosive rounds on the centipede Grimm while Ren covered her using his firearms, occasionally taking a swipe at some of the closer ones with the blades. Jaune himself used his shield to clumsily block the creatures aiming for Pyrrha's back, giving her the chance to shoot them down while occasionally taking one down himself. Thanks to their previous experience, they did not take that much time to kill off the Grimm. It was oddly anticlimactic; they had more issues in the darkness of the catacomb, but out in the open with light and reinforcements, they were taking down double the numbers with a fair bit of ease. Soon enough, the last of the centipede Grimm were eliminated by the generous usage of Nora's secondary weapon form.

"Ah that was nice!" Nora wiped her brow and shouldered her weapon, her smile being an odd sight amongst the decaying corpses of the Grimm and with Grimm blood on one side of her face. "I wonder if we can do that again in the future?"

"I pray not." Ren remarked as he held his knees while panting.

"At least we are able to get rid of them." Pyrrha said as she lightly heaved. "Good thing you found their weaknesses earlier, Jaune. That could have gone worse."

"I guess." Jaune panted as he looked to find Ruby and the others. His worries were not necessary as he watched them take down the Nevermore with a fair bit of ingenuity and madness.

 _'Damn~_ _note to self. Do not get in front of Ruby when she swings that weapon.'_

"Looks like they got it covered." Pyrrha remarked as the others looked at the team, with Ruby barely visible on the cliff edge as she waved her arm. Jaune was about to say something when he saw movement behind Pyrrha.

"Incoming!" Jaune pulled Pyrrha out of the way while bracing himself against his shield just as the Deathstalker struck with its pincer, lifting him off his feet and sending him hurtling back a few feet.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha tried to get to him only to be repelled by the Grimm that used its tail to create a huge gorge in the ground, followed shortly by a few rock piles made by its pincers. Seemingly satisfied that the other three won't interrupt, it turned back to focus its attention at Jaune who just got back on his feet unsteadily.

 _'Great, just what I needed. As if a bunch of acid bugs were not enough!'_ Jaune groaned in his head as he lifted his sword and shield. He had hoped that he was wrong about the Deathstalker's motives, but this attack proved it. For whatever reason, the creature was after him specifically.

Bummer.

Jaune started running to get the Deathstalker to follow him and leave the others alone, hoping to get more cover against it. To his relief and frustration, the Grimm made to chase him, clearly choosing to go after him rather than the others. At least this would give the others time to regroup and think of a plan to help him out, or in the worst case, they can leave to get help.

"Come on ugly, this way!" Jaune called out as he made his way to a deeper section of the ruins, using the cover to avoid strikes from the pincers or the stinger. He took cover at one of bigger columns and waited for the creature to move past him, using the moment to assess the situation.

 _'Okay, this guy has some thick armor, big ass pincers and a stinger that makes me look punier_ _than I need reminders of! I am going to need a way to distract it_ _long enough for the others to get here or at least bring help.'_

"Jaune!"

'Nevermind.'

Jaune turned to find Pyrrha, Ren and Nora running to his side, stopping for a brief moment as they took cover from the Deathstalker that turned around to find them, paused for a moment before continuing its quest to end his life.

"Jaune, are you okay?!" Pyrrha went to him and gave him a quick look over to check for wounds.

"I am fine, but this guy is very persistent." Jaune answered her while looking around the column to check for the creature.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Nora cheered while waving her weapon, looking like she had no worries to plague her even with the current situation they were in. "Let's break some Grimm's legs, Jaune-Jaune!"

"Nora." Ren palmed his face while shaking his head.

"Well, I am getting tired of getting chased." Jaune looked at the Grimm one more time before coming up with a plan. "Okay, I got a crazy idea. Pyrrha, think you could take out its eyes? We just need to get its field of vision removed a bit. Nora, you and I would need to run interference to keep it busy. Aim for the legs. Ren, see if you can take out that stinger."

"Oh yeah, this is happening!" Nora let out a maniacal laugh as she took out her grenade launcher and started to dish out multiple explosions at the Deathstalker, which was understandably stunned by the suddenness of the attack. Jaune came close and started to hack at the legs as best as he could, thanking the blacksmith who made Crocea Mors for its sharpness and toughness as he was able to cut deep into the joints of the legs while his shield blocked the hard strikes of the legs. Pyrrha proved herself to be an expert marksman as she took aim and meticulously took out the eyes without missing a shot, while Ren used his dual pistols to lay down both cover fire and tried to take down the stinger.

After a few rounds of this and one underhanded strike by Nora which broke the armor and left a huge opening at the top, the Deathstalker clearly had enough of their attacks, using its stinger to slam against Nora, sending her flying away quite a distance.

"Nora!" Ren called out in concern before directing angry eyes at the Grimm. Letting out a brief roar of rage, Ren jumped onto one of its legs, skipped on its body and proceeded to unload all of his ammunition on the offending appendage, making the Grimm hiss in pain as it tried to shake him off. It succeeded in getting him off, but the damage was done with the stinger hanging by its tendon.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called out to her while pointing at the Grimm. She got the idea and threw Akouo at the tail, bisecting the stinger and making it land on the opening of the armor, making the Deathstalker roar out in agony.

"Right then, Nora! Nail it!" Jaune called out feeling the plan was a success, but when he did not get a reply he turned to find Nora knocked too far away from them and looking unsteady on her feet. "Oh no~"

"Jaune, watch out!" Pyrrha's warning brought his attention to the front, barely giving him time to raise his shield as the Grimm came barreling straight for him, its eyes now showing deep rage at all the pain and wanting to eliminate them all. With a roar, the creature lifted him off his feet and sent through the wall, making him lose some of the Aura and his weapons as he crashed to the ground.

 _'Crap!'_ Jaune scrambled to get to his shield but the Deathstalker had other ideas as it used its pincer to crack the ground and forced it upwards to separate him from the shield. With another roar, it swung the other pincer at Jaune, forcing him to take the full blunt of the attack.

"GARH!" Jaune let out a scream as his body was immediately assaulted with the feeling of pain rushing through his limbs and back. A brief flash of light and the sound of something breaking was enough to tell him that something was very wrong.

"Watch out!" He felt his collar getting pulled in the nick of time as the Deathstalker jabbed a pincer where he was a few seconds, creating a deep crater and some cracks in the ground. Jaune did not have much time to contemplate when Ren placed an arm around him and dragged him to deeper cover.

"Sorry for the rough treatment, but I had to get you out of the way before you resemble one of Nora's pancake disasters." Ren remarked while propping Jaune against the wall and examining the wounds. "Okay we have a problem."

"How bad is it?" Jaune winced from the pain shooting through his body.

"Well I can tell you that your least lethal injury is a broken rib." Ren quipped as he lightly prodded Jaune's body. "But the main issue right now is that your Aura has broken, so you are now vulnerable. You will need to take a back seat and let us handle this."

"That would be nice, but I think I might have some bad news on that part." Jaune gritted his teeth as he got into a better position. "For whatever reason, that creature has been after me since the beginning. If this was me being weak, I might understand a bit, but even with you guys hammering it with ammo and Nora's attacks, that Grimm keeps on chasing me."

"That I can agree with you. I have never seen a Grimm this determined for one person." Ren nodded with a grim frown.

"That however is something that we can use to our advantage." Jaune said much to Ren's confusion. "That guy is after me so much that it is ignoring the rest of you guys. And with Ruby and the others coming for us, we would have more firepower. I just need to hang on a little longer for them to arrive to help lay this creature down."

"That is a risky move and you know it." Ren narrowed his eyes at Jaune. "Even if the amount of Aura you have left can heal your wounds enough to allow mobility around the area, you won't last much longer against a Deathstalker of that size. And how much can you do without a weapon?"

"The Grimm has a hard time turning into corners, so it ends up smashing into the ruins around here. Enough of the rubble should be able to drive that stinger deeper into its back enough to force it to go slower, thus giving you guys more time." Jaune motioned to Crimson Blitz still sheathed on his back. "And I am not defenseless, I still got this guy with me." Ren was about to argue when the telltale sounds of the Deathstalker stomping came from their side, making them turn around and paled at the sight of a rampaging Deathstalker coming at them with thunderous steps.

"No time to argue, move!" Jaune pushed Ren out of the way and into relative safety before getting up to his feet and started to run as best he could with his injuries. More than ever he thanked Pyrrha in his mind for unlocking his Aura because he was going to need every bit of it.

"Time to use you again, Crimson Blitz." Jaune grabbed the sword and pulled it out of the sheath, its black edge gleaming in the sunlight and for a brief moment, he felt it vibrating slightly as though it was happy to be out in the open again.

He did not have time to think about it as the Deathstalker let out another roar and sped up as though his action of drawing the sword was a challenge that it wanted to answer. Well at least he got its attention.

"Come on ugly!" Jaune turned around to face the Grimm and once again, his vision shifted to show what looked to be a smaller version of it with bigger pincers trying to attack him in what appeared to be in a dark forest. Without a thought Jaune swung the blade in time to block the pincer aimed at him and redirected it to the ground, making him falter slightly but kept his footing to deliver a quick slice at the creature's face. Much to his surprise, the blade cut through the thick shell easily, making it bleed black blood and the creature to hiss in pain and move away slightly.

 _'Whoa, this sword is a lot sharper than I thought!'_ Jaune's thoughts were put on hold as the Grimm let out another roar and started to swing its pincers at him randomly, forcing him to dodge and parry them in quick succession. But a part of his mind could not help but gawked at the oddly smooth if not clumsy manner he could maneuver around them. He had trouble dodging his uncle's simple thrusts and his sister's jabs, yet he was easily moving around the Grimm like a ballerina and he could not help wondering what was doing this. Was it simply adrenaline, the fear of being killed?

Or was it due to the odd visions that was overlapping with his sight, making him move more effectively? If so, why was he having them now?

"Bang!"

His thoughts and little dance off got interrupted when a gunshot rang out in the open, followed shortly by a small explosion that hit the Deathstalker in the side. Then a giant wall of ice sprouted up from the ground in front of him, separating him from the Grimm.

"Get moving!" Jaune heard Weiss's voice and instantly turned to run towards the general direction of the voice, find her near the stone bridge with her weapon stabbed into the ground with a spinning symbol of a snow flake under her. By her sides, Yang and Blake stood with their weapons primed and eyes keeping watch at the ice barrier that was cracking.

"Hey there Lady Killer!" Yang momentarily broke her attention to focus on him. "Looks like you got quite the catch, a giant Deathstalker that wants your ass."

"That is putting it lightly." Jaune wheezed and spat out some blood as the injuries started to catch up to him. "I demand a refund, I did not ask for a damn Deathstalker on my ass."

"Okay, I think you can leave this to us." Yang said in a cheerful tone that barely hid her concern over him. "Mama Yang is going to lay the smack down on this bad boy."

"There is a giant stinger at the top of the head, we got it cut off and stuck in a hole of its armor. But we need to jam it in harder to kill it." Jaune quickly informed them before they moved on.

"Oh~ jam it in harder, huh?" Yang had that light in her eye that made him wary. "I will make sure to jam it in so hard, that Grimm will be shouting my name in ecstasy and pain!" With that line, she ran off leaving him red-faced and one Blake Belladonna who looked on with a flat expression.

"Just so you know, I blame you for encouraging her puns and general attitude." Blake remarked with a flat tone before running after Yang. Jaune could only go redder in the face and lower his face into his hands in deep embarrassment.

"Jaune!" Ruby came to his side and looked at him. "Are you okay? You looked like you have a fever."

"Hey Ruby." Jaune sighed as he looked up in time to see Pyrrha and the other two come to their side. "I am just very burned out, in need of rest, and not prepared for your sister's choice of words."

"Ah~ I feel for you." Ruby nodded with a slightly sympathetic expression.

"Nora, how are you?" Jaune turned to the bubbly girl, remembering the hit she took.

"Forget me, you looked like crap!" Nora exclaimed while looking over his body at the wounds he got. "How are you standing?!"

"Right now, pure adrenaline." Jaune answered while wincing at the pain. Now that he had stopped moving, the pain started to mount and he was having trouble to maintain his vision.

"Better hang on a little more, we would need whatever help we can get." Ren raised his hand to interrupt the obvious counter about to be made by Pyrrha and Ruby. "Jaune will stay back and relay whatever information to help us slay the Deathstalker. His earlier plan was a little rough but definitely better than whatever we can think of. With more of us and it being injured, it should not take us long to take it down."

"If you guys are done talking, now would be a good time to get into the game!" Weiss yelled as the ice barrier broke apart to reveal a very angry Deathstalker. The others took up their arms and leapt forward to engage it, leaving Jaune to look at them while feeling his limbs getting heavier. At least they got this covered, but there was a part of him that felt a little left out.

 _'Don't go there, Jaune. Remember what Uncle Ben said about this, it is fine to act a hero, but stupid if I rushed into a situation without understanding how to survive.'_ Jaune thought to himself as he watched the others struggle with the Deathstalker. _'For now, focus on weaknesses.'_

With that, he looked at the Grimm and saw the manner it was favoring certain portions of its body. "Guys, aim for the legs, stop it from moving so that Yang and Nora can deal out the heavy attacks!" He called out to them as they got closer. Pyrrha and Ren immediately followed the plan while Ruby relayed the information to the others. Weiss spun the revolving chamber on her weapon and rushed forward to stab it into one of the legs, turning it into ice and shattering it, while Ruby started to spin around to start hacking at one of the others. On the other side, Blake, Pyrrha and Ren joined forces to tackle the legs on their side, hacking away as best they could through the thick armor. Yang and Nora covered for both sides by using their heavy attacks to distract the Deathstalker while weakening it.

But the Deathstalker would not give in and soon learnt how to avoid some of the attacks and pushing back the others. From his end, Jaune could see how tired the others were getting, and how Nora and Yang was forced to conserve their ammo due to the armor.

 _'They still need help.'_ With that and a silent apology to his uncle for disobeying his words, Jaune gritted his teeth and rushed forward, bringing Crimson Blitz to the side and with its sharp edge scrapping the ground. With a yell, he went between the gap of Blake and Pyrrha, using his momentum to jump and slide on the ground beneath the Grimm before bringing the sword up, its sharp edge ensuring a clean cut as he glided across the ground all the way to the other end, making the Grimm roar in pain and more importantly, giving Yang and Nora a chance to properly lay on the heavy hits that crippled the legs.

"Pyrrha, boost Nora up!" Jaune yelled out. Pyrrha and Nora looked at each other and nodded, leaving Yang to continue hitting it with her shotgun gauntlets. Pyrrha lifted her shield and braced herself on the ground as Nora jumped onto it and used one of her grenades to propel herself up into the air.

"Bring it home, Nora!"

"Got it!" Nora spun her body a few times in the air while holding on to her hammer. With a jubilant roar, she smashed the hammer dead center of the stinger, driving it deeply through the armor and into the head, causing the Grimm to buckle under the force. It struggled for a bit before laying still.

"YES!" Yang and Ruby cheered with their arms up high, being the most excitable of the lot, while Blake and Weiss let out tired sighs of relief. Ren simply dropped to his butt and laid down on the floor while Pyrrha let her arms dropped to the side and let out her own sigh of tiredness.

"Hah~ that was refreshing!" Nora leapt off the Grimm and made her way to them. "Let's do that again!" Jaune was about to throw in a comment when he spied the tail twitching slightly and one of the Deathstalker's eyes glowing a bright red. Without realizing it, his body moved quickly and grabbed Nora before throwing her to the side.

"What the?!" Nora was momentarily speechless as she watched the Grimm she just smashed got back up and backhanded Jaune, sending him flying into the air and well away from them. Before she and the others could react, the Grimm smashed its pincer into the bridge, making the already unstable ruin crumble and collapse under them.

"We got to move now!" Weiss called out while grabbing Blake by the arm and pulling her up.

"But what about Jaune?!" Pyrrha tried to move towards him but got hindered by Ren and Nora.

"We can't help him if we don't get off this bridge!" Ren pulled her arm with Nora pulling the other, almost lifting her off her feet. "As it is, we need to get away from here this instance!"

"Jaune!" Ruby called out while Yang grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over her shoulder, before running with the rest to escape the crumbling portions of the bridge. It did not take long for them to get to the other side at the same time as the bridge that finished crumbling and thus leaving a chasm between them and their comrade who was stuck with a Deathstalker hellbent on killing him.

 _'God, this is such a crappy way to die.'_ Jaune groaned as he got to his feet unsteadily, glaring at the Deathstalker that was currently at the edge of the cliff. He was not given enough respite as the Grimm charged at him with all the energy of a wounded animal on its last legs, forcing him to dodge to the side and let it continue to the forest which it laid waste to a fair bit before coming to a slow stop. With another hiss, it slowly turned to face him, its mandibles clicking quickly and its pincers snapping loudly.

 _'Man, if this is how I am to go, this would be one hell of a story.'_ Jaune thought wistfully as he used the sword to pick himself up from the ground, wobbling lightly from the dizziness and loss of blood. His heart nearly stopped when his eyes cleared enough to show that he was at the cliff's edge, and there was no room to move elsewhere.

 _'Darn it, I really need something.'_ Jaune gripped the handle tightly and lifted the sword with heavy arms, pointing it at the Grimm in defiance. _'Good thing the others are on the other side. It does mean much, but at least they can stay alive and perhaps make a better difference to the world than me.'_

In his worsening sight, Jaune looked at Crimson Blitz in his hands, the dark edge gleaming in the sun, and could not help a random thought. _'Wonder if the previous owner had to deal with this in the past?'_

That was when something happened at the same moment as the Deathstalker started to move forward.

Visions of battlefields and unknown lands shot through his mind, almost blinding him to a standstill and making his head ache like a jackhammer going full throttle on him. His body felt like it was now on fire and the only reason he could not yell out in pain was the sight of a figure before him wielding the same weapon as him, his body hunched down and riddled with wounds and bleeding out. Before him was the same type of Grimm facing him as well, and just like Jaune, the figure was in a similar position of helplessness.

 _ **["So**_ _**this is it for me?"]**_ A voice echoed in Jaune's head as the figure seemed to chuckle at the situation. _**["At least the others are safe.**_ _**I should be the only one to fall,**_ _**being the weaker one of the lot.**_ _**They can make a bigger difference than me."]**_ The figure spat out some blood as he coughed heavily before taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.

 _ **["Well then, it is just you and me."]**_ The figure looked up to reveal a rather youthful face in his early twenties with blonde hair and startling blue eyes, with a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. The figure picked up his blade in a similar manner as him and glared at the Deathstalker.

 _ **["Let's do this buddy, one last time."]**_

Seemingly out of his control, his arms lowered the sword and moved it to the side, giving it room for the sword to reconfigured itself back to its old form with loud mechanical sounds while crimson lightning started to spark all over its body. Unknown to everyone, one of Jaune's eyes started to change color from a bright blue to an almost radiant white while his hair started to pale at the fringes. He stood before the oncoming Grimm with a defiant glare, not moving an inch and waiting for it to come close.

"Jaune, move!" Pyrrha called out to him as she tried to use her polarity to move him to no avail.

"What is that dunce doing?! He is going to get killed at this rate!" Weiss demanded while looking both angry and concerned for Jaune.

"Jaune!" Yang yelled out as the Grimm got closer, its pincers ready to grab and tear him into pieces. Just a few feet separated the two when Jaune finally made his move. He raised the sword with both hands, the crimson lightning now visible from where they stood and breaking the ground around him. Even with the distance between them, the others could almost feel the amount of energy that was building from the weapon. Then with a defiant roar, Jaune swung the sword down.

"BBOOOOEOEOORRRRRRR!"

The resulting attack that came after could only be described with the words 'utter destruction', as the beam of crimson lightning surged forward at the Deathstalker, instantly bisecting it in half before continuing its trajectory behind it all the way to the other side of the forest and sputtering towards the end, leaving behind a long stretch of burned trees, scorched earth and the smoldering remains of a Deathstalker that fell to the ground and split in half.

"Holy..." Weiss let out a word with her eyes wide open.

"Shit..." Yang finished it for her with her mouth wide open.

"By the gods..." Blake muttered while fighting every bit of her instinct to run away from the display of power exhibited by someone she deemed harmless. She did not think she would meet anyone who could be stronger than Adam, but to witness someone utterly wrecking a Deathstalker of that size and a large portion of the forest, she was both dumbfounded and wholeheartedly terrified. She would need to keep an eye out for him.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha rushed forward to him, followed shortly by Nora and Ren, but got overtaken by Ruby who ran at full speed with her Semblance, hoping to get to him quickly in order to make sure her first friend was safe.

As for the person in question?

Jaune panted heavily as he watched the Deathstalker evaporating, his head reeling from the vision he had and his body feeling like he was running on fumes. He was not sure what had happened, but one thing he did note was the fact he took on a Deathstalker on his own, albeit with some help from the others and something else. He looked to the sword in his hands and thought privately as the weapon went back to its previous state.

 _'What the hell are you?'_

Jaune released his hold on the sword and let his body drop to the ground, the tension leaving his body alongside precious lifeblood that dripped from his wounds. As darkness clouded his eyes, he could have sworn that amidst the sounds of his teammates yelling and pounding feet coming his way, someone else was next to him, the voice being too soft to hear properly, yet it seemed to stand out enough for him to hear the words.

 **[Not quite yet. You are not ready for what's to come.]**

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Hello there, here's a new chapter of Bearer of the Legendary Weapons, based from **dracohalo117's** challenge. I did state that I have written more previously and I figured I would just finished the remainder and post it here. I will be honest, if I were to continue with this idea, I will be taking some liberties, partially because trying to fit other franchises into RWBY is quite a challenge, so I will probably based some parts of their respective groups into her, but will be tweaked to fit the world.

So please review, and let me know if you want more one-shots of this or perhaps a full story.

And I put my pen down for now.


	6. Announcement

Based on the reception, the few reviews I got, and some advice from **dracohalo117** , I have decided to make **"Bearer of the Legendary Weapons"** a full-fledged story! Thank you for enjoying the concept, and a round of applause for said author who gave the idea out for a challenge. I will be putting the story up within the hour of this posting.

Do not worry, I will be continuing the one-shot ideas. I will hang on to the two chapters I have written here since they are a reminder of my actual hard work, but I will mark them as taken.

Hopefully the next idea will come out soon. Again thank you for your reviews/opinions.


	7. The Grimm Catcher

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

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 **Date Published:** 16th Oct 2018

 **Title:** The Grimm Catcher

 **Genre:** Canon AU, based on "The Yellow Death" Fanfic

 **Description:**

 _There are many stories, myths and legends spanning over the years in Remnant. One such story involves Crocea Mors, the heirloom weapon of the Arcs. But some stories would have been better left forgotten to time._

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The sounds of grass crunching filled the dark forest as the pack of Beowulves moved towards the fallen city that resided in the shadow of the mountain, ignoring the birds flying away or the rabbits scurrying off in fear. The pack had been following a group of humans and Faunus for the past week, taking their time to test them to see if there were any fighters that could repel them, all the while enjoying the fear that grew slowly but steadily as they attacked their camps. They had lost the scent briefly when the storm came, but picked it up soon after, gathering more Grimm on the way as they too sensed the group of travelers.

The pack broke through the forest line and paused to look at the ruined city. There could not be a more extreme contrast of environments than the scene before them; cast under the shadow of the mountain, the ruined city stuck out from the sea of green in the area with the dark tones of broken concrete and rusted steel. It was made more apparent with the dead vegetation that was left in the city, like the dead trees that swayed ominously in the light breeze or the trampled grass that peeked out of the cracked concrete. The city may have been destroyed and abandoned for many years, yet it still reeked of dark emotions that drew all types of Grimm species to it like a moth to a flame.

Fear.

Anger.

Despair.

All those emotions permeated the very grounds where the city was built on, to the point where the humans and Faunus instinctively avoided the area with bowed heads, no animals would stay there, and the Grimm that have lived for many years would use this place as a point of reference for their travels.

The pack stopped just on the outskirts of the city, with the pack leader taking a few steps forward to sniff the air around the area. The leader was quite a sight; as the oldest of the group, it was also the largest of the pack, roughly 8 feet tall and 14 feet long with its bone armor covering almost the entire back, its four limbs and partial portion of the tail. The armor around its neck merged with its mask in a manner that gave the impression of it wearing a crudely made crown meant to intimidate any in its path. Its eyes shone a deep crimson as it raised its snout and sniffed the air for the group they were tracking.

It could tell they were close, and they had again gained a few others on this journey. It had always observed the newcomers for any possible threats, and there were a few skirmishes in finding out, but none were of a great threat. There was however one scent that gave it pause to consider; the scent was contradicting in the manner that it was familiar but foreign, inviting yet repulsive, soothing but deadly.

No matter, this hunt had gone on for long enough, it was time to feed the pack.

The pack leader bared its teeth before letting out a roar that reverberated in the city, to which the other Grimm followed suit with roars of their own, savoring the spike of fear that manifested from their howls. One of the younger pack members was too eager for the upcoming meal and proceeded to leap forward...

 _'SHRING!'_

Only to tumble and collapse a few away with its cleanly removed head flying through the air and hitting the nearest wall hard, surprise quite evident on its face as the head dropped to the ground. Within a few seconds both the head and the body crumbled into dust and scattered to the winds.

The pack roared at the sudden death of one of its own and looked around with snarling mouths and lengthened claws, hoping to find the interloper. The pack leader however remained silent and opened its mouth to get a deeper breath to get the scent while reaching out with its senses. As it has lived through the years, it learned to think alongside using its instincts to test its surroundings. After all it had to deal with other Grimm that pick on Beowulves, the natives of the world, and the most troublesome of the lot, Huntsmen who actively hunt its kind down. In time its intelligence grew to let it understand the threats towards it, learn to form simple tactics to take down prey, and to fight against the Huntsman.

With the intelligence gained from the years of survival and instincts honed from battles, the pack leader learned to become a more effective hunter. It was thanks to that combination that helped it to survive all those years.

And it was thanks to said combination that helped it detect a change in the wind. With a loud bark, it and a few other Beowulves leaped high and used the debris as stepping stones, just in time to avoid sharp golden spikes that erupted from underground and stabbing the majority of the pack that did not move out in time, creating a scene that was quite gruesome for the uninitiated. The few that barely survived the stabbing managed one weak grunt before expiring.

Oddly enough the bodies did not start to disappear. From the point of the stab wounds, the fur started to change color from the darkest black to a bright shade of yellow, while the red markings on the bone fragments changed to either a light green or a deep blue. The moment the last body finished its transformation, the entire group seemed to explode in a bright flash of light, turning into a huge cloud of gold dust that congregated into one spot before drifting slowly to a nearby building, where the figure of a human appeared at the entrance.

The Alpha Beowulf narrowed its eyes to study at the human while its pack roared their rage at the one that destroyed their brethren. Based on its limited understanding and the connection with its 'Queen', the male human was wearing rather rudimentary armor with some old leather strips over some worn-out clothing. He had a hoodie that covered his head partially, showing off his unruly blond hair and blue eyes that seemed to glow menacingly in the dark. He held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, both of which were glowing a faint gold.

But the reason it took the time to examine him as it did was because of his scent. This was the one that had the unusual scent, and now that it was closer to him, it could now understand the oddity.

For whatever reason, the scent had traces of its own kind but warped differently. 'Purified' would be the word.

"Well, this is surprising." The human tilted his head while the spikes retracted back into the ground. "I knew there was an Alpha Beowulf, but to find one of such a size, you must lived a long time. This could be a problem." The ground behind him cracked and bulged upwards, breaking apart to reveal a creature that was somewhat familiar to the pack leader. It was a porcupine-like creature roughly three-quarters the size of the human with huge spikes that lightly jostled with the small movements. Its armor covered merely the joints of its limbs and portions of its head, which bared blue markings that pulsed every so often, exposing much of the gold fur and white flesh. Its green eyes was currently studying the Grimm before it while its head tilted slightly, its nose twitching every so often.

"Okay then, I will need to bring him out." The human raised his blade which glowed brightly before shooting out a beam of light next to the porcupine creature. The gold dust followed suit and gathered around the beam, rapidly increasing in size before forming a rough shape of an animal that was roughly the same size as the Alpha Beowulf. It did not take long for the features to start showing up in the form of gold fur, white bone and limbs, followed by a snout with sharp teeth. Within a few moments, there stood a Grimm construct of a Beowulf that was the same size and height as the Alpha before them, only this particular one looked like a proper wolf as opposed to the Grimm caricature.

And right now, the construct looked angry at the Grimm.

"Okay, now we are more or less ready." The human turned back to the Grimm with a particular blood-thirsty grin. "Time for the hunt to begin." With that, the porcupine looking Grimm hunched over and fired off its quills, unleashing a storm of spikes that descended on the pack, eliminating a vast number in one stroke. The Alpha who was the furthest was able to escape with a few of its pack members by using some of the rubble as a barrier from the more serious attacks. With a snarl, the Alpha directed some of them to attack the human, clearly registering him as the source of the danger while calling on the others to serve as shields from the constructs. The pack roared out their agreement and rushed forward to charge at the human…

 **"RRRRROROOOOAAAAARRR!"**

Only to have the Beowulf look-alike appear right in front of them and take a huge swipe of its limb to send them crashing into the debris, forcing the others back and taking out a few. The other construct continued the bombardment of quills to eliminate the remaining Grimm, but the Alpha had directed the pack to take shelter in the rubble and made them approach from the back and the sides. It was only the quick action by the human that saved his life when he spotted them and raised his shield on time to block an attack, while the porcupine construct bounded over to him and curled into a ball, creating a tight ball of spikes that started to roll around and over the Grimm, impaling them as they got run over by the quills. The Beowulf construct continued with its own attacks, taking the occasional bite of the Grimm to snap their necks or puncture their hearts.

Soon enough, the two constructs, the human and the Alpha Beowulf were all there was left on the ruined battlefield.

"Well, that was exciting." The human hummed as he crawled out of the porcupine and made to stand closer to the Beowulf construct. "So there is only one of you left. Well I guess we should make this a fair fight." He turned to the construct and gave a nod. "Okay Fenrir, I won't interfere. He is all yours." With that proclamation, the construct let out a roar and leaped forward. The Alpha let out one of its own before raising both front limbs to halt the construct and threw it to the side, following it up with a grapple and a bite to the shoulder where there was less bone armor protecting it. The construct let out a pained yelp and tried to grab the Grimm, but the Alpha was used to tackles by other Beowulves seeking to usurp its authority and went about moving its grip in a manner that would allow it to twist the limb without giving up its hold. The construct struggled for sometime before it decided that it had enough and leaped backwards, crushing the Grimm under its weight and releasing its hold on it.

The Alpha grunted as it hefted the construct off it and threw it to the building nearby. The construct however twisted in the air and landed lightly on its feet before taking a big leap that cratered the ground and taking a big bite of the Alpha's leg, tearing it off in the process. The Grimm roared in pain as it backpedaled, but the construct came after it relentlessly and even started using the torn off limb as an improvised weapon, having the spikes of the armor puncture both the armor and the flesh deeply.

The Alpha let out another roar as the spikes broke its crown and cut its eye. Reaching out with its remaining limb, it grabbed the arm holding its ripped limb and twisted it enough to force the construct to drop it. Without halting, it leaped above and over the construct, using the momentum and leverage to throw the construct far into the air, giving it the chance to turn and chase after the human.

The human on his part lifted a shield ready to block its attack while the porcupine construct raised the quills to prepare for impalement, but in the end both were not needed as the Beowulf construct managed to appear from the side and bit hard on its neck, slamming it to ground with its limbs holding it in place. With a growl, it tightened its grip and twisted hard, cracking the neck of the Beowulf Alpha and stopping its movements, but still keeping it alive.

"Well, looks like the fight is done." The human spoke as he came forward with the porcupine construct following close behind. "If you don't mind me saying, you have been a pain in the ass, following us around just so you can cash in on a big meal." The human stopped just a few feet away from the Grimm, uncaring of the glare that was directed at him or the closeness of its mouth. "What say you?"

The Alpha Beowulf responded by trying to bite the human only to have its gold counterpart press hard on its back, cracking the armor more in the process.

"Yeah, I guess you would say that." The human raised his sword and held it at an opening in the mask. "For what's worth, you are perhaps the most tenacious Grimm I had encountered. May you have a greater purpose with Fenrir as your guide." With that, he plunged the blade deep into the Grimm's skull, making it gasp in pain before relaxing. For some reason, the Grimm merely felt it for a short while before it started feeling something odd but nice. It was trying to find a definition based on its limited intelligence.

If it had to give it a word…

It would be…

Purified...

=()=

"Well that is done." The blond haired teen let out a tired sigh as he watched the Alpha Beowulf complete the transformation and burst into gold dust before it moved to his construct in a densely formed ball. With a small finger movement, the construct opened its mouth to eat the ball, gulping quite loudly as it swallowed. Then with a noticeable shudder, the construct started to glow and grow, obtaining more bone armor and a couple of spikes around the upper leg regions, with the snout becoming more elongated to make it even closer in appearance to that of an actual wolf as opposed to some freakish looking werewolf. Before long its transformation was complete and the construct shook itself lightly before turning to direct its blue eyes on him. With the sun hitting both the trees and the gold construct at at an angle, it certainly gave it a majestic appearance with its fur lightly moving in the breeze and the bone armor lightly bouncing the glare off it as the construct towered above him. The bone armor on its head seemed to accentuate that feeling as it looked like a proper crown for a king unlike the Alpha Beowulf from earlier, since there was very little bone armor covering the actual face to begin with.

"Oh yeah, you are definitely looking good there buddy." The teen grinned at the sight of the gold wolf seemingly preened at the praise. With another shake of its body, small balls of light came out of its body and settled on the ground, upon which they expanded quickly and formed miniature versions of itself, roughly his height based on the closest one which decided to lick his face.

"Okay, looks like you are now able to use this feature of the Beowulf." The teen commented as he patted the head while sheathing his weapon and looking at the scabbard, where stylized designs of a Beowulf Mask, a Hystripine Mask and a Geist Mask adorned it.

"You know, no matter how many times I have seen it on this journey, the constructs are still freaking me out." A voice drew all to a Faunus who came from behind and placed her hands on her hips as she looked at the constructs with a wary eye. She was a fox Faunus with short bob-cut red hair wearing a dirty yellow shirt and worn-out brown jeans, giving her a slightly rough-and-tough look that complemented her somewhat tomboyish look. Her ears kept twitching as she looked at one of the constructs having a rather cheeky expression on it as though it wanted to pull a prank on her.

"Don't even think about it, buddy." The girl pointed a finger at that one, her tone displaying a no nonsense notion. "I have my eye on you."

"Come on Sune, they just want to have fun." An old man spoke out as he made his way behind her with an old shotgun. The old man had notable beer belly that stretched his white sleeveless shirt and spilled over his brown trousers. He had a demeanor that was gentle but firm which matched his appearance when coupled with his thinning gray hair and bushy beard.

"Easy for you to say, you do not have to deal with them climbing all over you every time Jaune uses this particular one." Sune spoke just as that particular construct took the moment to pounce on her, knock her to the ground, and proceeded to lick her face like an eager dog. "GAH! Jaune, call them off!"

"Hmm, I wonder~" Jaune put on a contemplating expression while scratching his chin. "Should I do that, Fenrir?" He directed that to his primary construct who was letting a sound that made it seem it was laughing at the situation before it.

"Jaune..." Sune growled as she managed push the head away from her.

"Okay, I will do so." Jaune laughed as he raised his hand to Fenrir. "Okay mate, that is enough." The Beowulf construct huffed before glowing and disappearing in a cloud of dust, followed shortly by the rest. The one that tackled Sune took its chance to get one last lick of her face before disappearing.

"Bah~ gross." Sune wiped her face with her sleeve.

"You said that, but you are happy with Fenrir, aren't you?" The old man ducked at the playful swipe the girl made at him. "Hey, no hitting the elderly!"

"You kind of ask for that, Moorland." Jaune smirked as he leaned against the wall.

"Hmph! No respect from you youngsters these days." Moorland crossed his arm with such an exaggerated pose that Jaune and Sune burst into laughter, with him following suit. It felt good for them to have a good laugh after having the pack following them for so long.

"How are the others?" Jaune asked after wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Last I checked, they are fine." Moorland answered as he holstered his weapon. "They were still terrified but they are keeping to your instructions if any other Grimm arrived."

"That's good." Jaune sighed in relief. "The pack was a lot bigger than expected."

"Well at least that is done." Sune turned while cocking her head with a tilt and a teasing smirk. "Let's get back to them." With that she walked off with a light sway of her hips, pausing to look at Jaune with a rather saucy smile. "You coming Jaune, we should get moving." She then continued moving on through the doorway.

"Kid, you better get to her before she gets hitched." Moorland lightly elbowed Jaune with a teasing smile.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked with a confused expression. That temporarily knocked Moorland off his pace as he looked to Jaune with a blank expression before shaking his head.

"Kid, you are a dense fool."

"Hey!"

So the trio continued to get to their destination, with the two males bickering in humor as they delved deeper into a tunnel that led to the hiding hole. Jaune paused for a moment to look at the underground city that was dimly illuminated by the rays of light going through the holes of the ground. It was a rather sobering thought that the city was once the dream of expanding out of the kingdom, only to become the nesting ground for despair and Grimm. People gave up in the idea of expansion and just stuck their heads in the kingdoms.

Truly a saddening thing.

"Ha! There it is!" Sune called out as they got to the remains of a low-rise building. "I swear this place is a damn maze!"

"Well at the least it keeps us warm and dry rather than being stuck outside." Moorland remarked while Jaune nodded.

"True, and at least we are safe." Sune walked through a hole in the wall and continued on before stopping with a puzzled expression. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"Erm, did we take a wrong turn?" Sune looked around the empty room. "This should be the place right?"

"It should be." Jaune stepped forward only to stop from the pressure of something pressed to the back of his head. Moorland yelled as several figures appeared around them pointing rifles at them. Jaune had to frown at the sight of the black-and-white uniforms with white masks.

White Fang.

"Looks like we found the stragglers." One of them spoke as he looked at the three of them. "These should be the last ones."

"We don't have time for this." Another one grumbled as he lifted his rifle. "We may have been told to find them, but we do not need to bring them back since we have the others. Let's just kill them already."

"Wait, I am one of you!" Sune stepped in front of Jaune and Moorland, shielding them from the rifles with her body.

"You are not a Fang." The second one leered at her in a manner that got Jaune itching to pull out his blade. "Though you are one good-looking lady."

"She is a Faunus." Another interjected in a manner that spoke of his determination to distract his companion from whatever thoughts in his mind, something that Jaune was thankful for. "We do not shoot one of ours."

"We are refugees." Five rifles directed themselves at Jaune when he spoke. "We are trying to get to Vale after the village got destroyed by Grimm."

"Did we ask for your words human?" The aggressive one got closer as he growled.

"We are just trying to get to Vale to get a fresh start in life." Jaune tried to reason with the White Fang with limited success.

"I don't have time for this." The White Fang soldier aimed the rifle at Jaune's head only for Sune to block his aim.

"Wait it is the truth!" Sune hesitated before plowing on. "Take us to the others, don't hurt them. I will join your group if you can help us get to Vale."

"Sune!" Both Jaune and Moorland turned to her in shock while the White Fang soldiers looked to each other thoughtfully.

"We don't turn down possible recruits." The more reasonable member of the group spoke while lowering his weapon. "Very well, we will take you to Mr Torchwick. He will be dealing with the humans more likely. You can meet up with the other Faunus and we will see if you truly want to join us. Mr Torchwick does want to meet the hunter here." He motioned to Jaune with his rifle.

"Better make the right choice, girly." The nasty one roughly pushed her back, making Jaune step forward to catch her while he directed a glare at the soldier. "Now move it." With that, the soldiers make them start walking out of the building and down another tunnel, going deeper into the hidden city that apparently hid more secrets than expected. Along the way, Jaune started to see small crates of ammunition, food supplies and the occasional Dust crates stamped with the familiar logo of a snowflake. If there was any proof that there was a big crime going on in an empty area, this would have to be it.

Further thoughts of that got halted when the trio stopped at a building that was evidently given more attention to than most of the buildings in the area, what with the holes being boarded up with wood and the door being metal-plated heavily with bolts securing it and armed guards standing outside. Upon sighting the group, one of them nodded and moved to unlock the door, standing to one side to let them through.

"In you get." The trio moved through the door to find their remaining group huddled together with a few more White Fang soldiers standing around at different spots and levels, ensuring that no one could get away from their sights. Jaune let out a relieved sigh at the kids stuck in the middle of the group, at least they were okay.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" a drawling voice echoed in the building, making Jaune turned around to find a man dressed immaculately in a tailored white suit with dark pants just entering through one of the bigger holes in the wall. Jaune could not help noting the man had thick eye-liner as he tipped his bowler hat at them, revealing the neatly combed orange hair underneath, before leaning on the cane held in his hand, nonchalantly smiling with a cigar in his mouth.

"Let's see now. A junior hunter, a few kids, and a few farmers with pitch forks. Quite a ragtag group, wouldn't you guys say?" The man raised an eyebrow while the White Fang group laughed lightly.

"They claimed to be travelers coming to Vale, Mr Torchwick." The one closest to Jaune called out while maintaining a close eye on him.

"Do they now?" The man inhaled before removing his cigar and exhaled a steady stream of smoke. "Well they do seem the sort, but this is a bit unusual at this time."

"There is one who wishes to join us." Another motioned with his gun at Sune.

"Hmm, since she asked for it, I can't stop her, it is your bit." Torchwick spoke before looking at the group. "But what to do with the rest of you? My employer is a bit of stickler for her orders, and she made it very clear there can be no witnesses to deal with." The smile dropped off his face at that point as he let out a sigh. "I really do not want to mess this up before she decides to get up-close and personal."

Jaune stepped forward at that, making the White Fang soldier in front of him raise his weapon with a growl. Jaune ignored him and looked straight at Torchwick who merely raised his hand to stop the others from shooting the teen.

"We merely wished to pass through this area to get to Vale. The village was destroyed by Grimm a few days ago and no Huntsmen came for us, so we are trying to get a fresh start. We didn't even know why you guys are here, we just want to get out." Jaune spoke while maintaining his eyes on Torchwick who stared back steadily with a cursory eye. After a while the well-dressed man seemed to have come to a decision as he lightly nodded before stepping forward.

"You seemed like a decent kid, getting these people to safety and preparing them with whatever they have to defend themselves, and based on the ones whispering at the back over there" He motioned with his cane, "Killed quite a few Grimm to impress them. What's your name kid?"

"Jaune."

"Nice to meet you, Jaune. My name is Roman Torchwick, at your service." The man actually bowed while introducing himself. "A gentleman of leisure and the occasional outlaw of the kingdom." A few of the soldiers actually snorted at that point while the rest gave a smile.

"Charmed..." Jaune resisted the twitch on his eye though it may have been unsuccessful since Roman chuckled as he straightened himself up.

"Well Jaune, the people back there have been whispering that you can likely take on more of my guards to give them time to leave. And considering that little display you did with the pack of Beowulves and the Alpha Beowulf, I say they may be quite accurate. Yet you claimed to be a traveler?"

Jaune paused at the loaded question and decided to word his answer carefully. "I can kill Grimm despite not having any proper education in the academies. I just take out my blade and stab them before they think lunch."

"Yes, you could stab them… Or you let your odd creations help you out." Roman motioned with his cane as he looked at him thoughtfully. "How curious, you are..." He paused in his pacing before nodding, seemingly coming to a conclusion as he turned back to Jaune.

"Okay then, kid. How about a deal?"

Jaune frowned as he processed those words. "Somehow this deal is not going to be fair, if I am right about you as a shrewd businessman?"

"Aha, I like you more, you are right about me being a shrewd businessman!" Roman replaced the cigar in his smiling mouth. "Now normally the deal would be bad for the person I am dealing with, but in this case, I think I can make an exception by handing you the better end of the bargain – provided that you can follow through with this."

"Big Risk, High Rewards?" Jaune crossed his arms and unconsciously tapping his fingers against his arm. "What happens if I refuse?"

"Not much difference for me. Either way the people behind can leave this ruined city and get to Vale, only difference is how they get there and how safe it would be, since we have so many Grimm just prowling around, and at least one choice would not have you tagging along." Roman gestured with his arm. "And I do not mean to be negative, but I doubt Vale at this point is going to be generous to a bunch of strays waltzing in."

"There is a 'but' coming in." Jaune let out a sigh.

"There is always a 'but' somewhere in a deal kid. You just got to figure it out." Roman raised his cane like it was a teaching tool. "Again I do not usually give the advantage to the person I am doing business with, but for you it is an exception. I admit, I am a businessman who tries to get my hands on whatever merchandise that grabs my eye. I am a robber that takes what I fancy or need. I am on rare occasions a fighter in the event I need to get down and dirty. But one thing I do not want to compromise of all is taking unnecessary risks and lives, especially if there are young children involved." A few of the soldiers around nodded in agreement at that. "I will scare them off, may have to get a tenny~ bit physical, but not to the point of hurting the child or to kill them."

"My employer really does not want any stragglers to know, but what she does not know can't hurt us." Roman mimicked zipping his lips. "I think you can gather what we are dealing with?" He gestured with his arms at the group and some of the crates.

"I am no expert in large-scale crimes." Jaune answered as he looked around. "But I would say you have quite the operation to gather this much Dust and have this much man-power."

"Indeed. So here is the deal I have for you. Help us out with this one favor. Right here, right now. If you can succeed and preferably survive, I can arrange for a Bullhead to fly you all to Vale with record time. If you fail, they can still leave the city, but on foot."

"They can?" Jaune narrowed his eyes at the man.

"They can survive longer with you. Without you, I will give it a couple of days before they become Grimm chow." Roman shrugged as he answered bluntly. "So what is it going to be?"

"Jaune, don't listen to him!" The old man yelled out to the teen seeing that he was thinking hard. "Constant Vigilance in the outback, kid!" Jaune did not listen and focused on the pros and cons of the deal. It was risky considering who he was dealing with, but something in his gut told him that he could actually trust the man, if only a bit.

He would have to take it...

"You are actually considering! That is good!" Roman nodded in approval. "Make sure you think this carefully."

"I just need to confirm something." Jaune looked to the man with a light growl in his tone. "You need me to kill someone or something?"

"Aha, you are good!" Roman clapped with enthusiasm. "Yes I can tell you have to get your hands dirty during your journeys hmm? Don't worry, you are not going to kill a person. We just have a big issue downstairs. An Ursa Major, one of the biggest I have laid eyes on, and that is including that Beowulf Alpha you fought earlier."

Jaune let out a breath that he unconsciously held. He had bloodied his hands a few times in the past, mostly from bandits. It was a necessary deed, but one he did not enjoyed. This though, he could handle. "Very well, I will do it."

"Excellent!" Roman pointed to a group of White Fang soldiers who happened to return with a box of ammunition. "You guys! When you are done with the crate, help to get some food and a room for these people while I get our friend to deal with our big problem downstairs. If anyone of them decides to bolt, take them out. If any of your buddies decide to make trouble, you also take them out." Roman smirked at the surprise on Jaune's face. "Hey I made a deal, and I will make sure that it is fair and will keep my end of the bargain. Until this bargain is completed, you are with us and that means you are not to be harmed."

Of the group, only Sune and the old man were brave enough to follow Jaune to the entrance, the latter more keen on keeping an eye on his safety in case Roman Torchwick decided to pull a fast one and leave him for dead. Despite Jaune's insistence to have them away, they were stubborn enough to ignore him. After a few twists and turns in the labyrinth of tunnels, they found themselves in front of a tunnel opening where it was clear that something really big resided, based on the claw marks gouged into the rock and rubble spread all over. With a slight concern, Jaune noted the small splatters of blood around the area.

"Don't mind the mess." Roman spoke with a jovial air. "We had quite an issue with this big fellow, so we had to cordon off the area after the first week."

"Can we at least have a gun?" Moorland asked with a glare at the well-dressed man.

"Hmm~ Okay." Roman motioned to a couple of the soldiers who took out their sidearms and passed it to them, with their partners keeping a close eye and a tight finger on their own weapons.

"You do know how to operate one right?" Jaune asked Sune who was gingerly handling hers.

"Can't be that bad. This end point at the enemy right?" She gestured with the gun, making Jaune, Moorland, Roman and a few White Fang shout and back away a few steps.

"Girl, point that gun downwards!" Roman yelled while Moorland reached forward and pushed Sune's arms towards the ground. "You know what, someone please teach her proper weapon handling while the rest get ready for the Grimm." Roman turned to the soldiers for assistance, one of whom came forward to help Moorland teach a sheepish Sune with the weapon.

"Anything I should know about this fellow?" Jaune decided to get the extermination started.

"Only that this fellow is quite the smart Grimm, it will stay in there unless we can force it out in the open. That is where you come in." Roman answered while checking his cane. "I will join in the fight, but you would be the one who deals with the melee range."

"I guess that is good enough." Jaune sighed as he rolled his shoulders and pulled out his sword. "Okay, I will try to get the Grimm out so that you guys can distract it with the guns. Just don't shoot my constructs." At the hesitant nod from the soldiers and a shrug by Roman, Jaune sighed before calling upon his Aura. With a brief burst of light, the Beowulf construct came to life in all its glory. It turned to Jaune, briefly growling at the soldiers who unconsciously held their rifles up.

"Easy there Fenrir." Jaune patted the leg of the construct. "They are currently on our side, so ease up." Jaune paused before continuing and projecting the image in his mind. "I will need a few of your smaller versions, say four?" The Beowulf construct lowered its head to look at him, then with a light glow, five balls shot off its body and dropped to the floor, forming into its smaller counterparts. Three approached the opening while two went to Sune and Moorland, with Fenrir staying put to keep a barrier between Jaune and the White Fang.

"I have seen it earlier, but it is quite something up close." Roman commented with curiosity as he alternated his eyes between Fenrir and the smaller construct nearest to him. "Now I am even more eager for you to survive. I will be very upset if you fall down at this point."

"Whatever." Jaune rolled his eyes at this point. "Just get ready." At their nods and preparation, Jaune cracked his neck once more before letting out a whistle, sending the three smaller constructs into the cave. For a while there was silence, then…

 **"RROROOOOORAAARRR!"**

The tunnel system shook from the roar of rage that reverberated from the opening, making a few trip on their feet as stones and dirt dropped from the ceiling. Jaune kept steady with his sword stabbed to the ground while Fenrir hunched lower and growled in agitation, the smaller constructs following suit as they kept close to Sune and Moorland. Loud thumps echoed from the opening before the three constructs rushed out of the tunnel, followed shortly by red eyes filled with malice gleaming in the dark. For a while they hung there before the darkness took on the form of a bulky bear-like Grimm that had more spikes on its body than any other they have seen before. Just from one look, Jaune could tell that Roman was both telling and understating the truth: the Grimm was almost as tall as the gold construct next to him, and it seemed to be almost covered entirely in bone armor with the paws looking like primitive knuckle busters. Even the underside was covered in a bone ribcage that would probably stop most huntsmen weaponry.

This would mean they had to be very careful with their shots.

"Fire now!" Jaune was pleased that both Sune and Moorland were the first to start shooting, and they made them count by aiming right for the eyes and gaps in the armor. The mask of the Ursa was soon sparkling from all the bullets fired by them and soldiers, with Roman taking a few well-aimed shots at the rib-cage to break them.

"Okay boys, go for the legs!" Jaune commanded the smaller constructs to attack the Ursa's limbs before turning to his primary construct. "Okay Fenrir, we would need to change your mode. Switch to Beowulf mode." Fenrir nodded as its body glowed and started to bulk up while the hind legs grew bigger and the front legs started to change into claws that resemble hands. Before long, Fenrir finished its transformation that was more reminiscent to a werewolf but still looked more kingly as opposed to the previous Alpha Beowulf. With a howl, it leaped forward and grapple the Ursa by the head. The Ursa, having its limbs attacked by the smaller constructs, could do nothing against the assault and ended up on the ground, cracking parts of its mask and the rocks around it. With a snarl, Fenrir locked its jaws on the Ursa's neck and held it there while the other constructs attack the limbs again.

The Ursa however made sure that it did not go down without a fight. With another roar, it managed to push itself up and toss Fenrir off its back, using the momentum to throw the two smaller constructs off its front legs. The two burst into dust upon impact on the rocks before the third construct that was still biting on the heel got lifted and slammed into the ground. In its attempt to get back up, the construct did not see the incoming foot descending on its head, crushing it and destroying its form. The Ursa's roar of victory got cut short when Fenrir came back with a vengeance and swiped its legs to send it crashing back to the ground, giving the construct a chance to leap on top and pinned it tightly.

With a snarl, it proceeded to bite whatever it could get its jaws on, with the Ursa Major roaring in pain and rage as it tried to get the construct off it. The Grimm soon found itself smothered with blood and with parts of the bone mask cracked and broken off, revealing one bloodied red eye that glared at Fenrir with hatred evident in it. The construct merely grunted as it grabbed the head and bashed it against the ground, causing it to lose its strength.

"Hold your fire!" Jaune shouted as he rushed forward with his sword, hoping his voice could be heard over the sound of twenty odd weapons firing at the same time. Fortunately they did hear him, that or the sight of him running into their line of fire prompted them to stop their firing. Fenrir grabbed the head of the Ursa and positioned it in time for Jaune to come right next to it. Gripping the sword with both hands, he raised it high into the air and with a yell, plunged it deeply to the hilt into the huge crack of the mask and right through the skull, causing the Ursa to go into a brief spasm before going still.

Everyone kept quiet in the cavern watching the Ursa, with a few having twitchy fingers around the trigger in case the Ursa was playing possum. That soon ended when Jaune let out a breath and pushed a fair amount of his Aura through his sword and into the Ursa. From the point of entry, the process that was done on the Beowulf got repeated as the fur started to change color from the darkest black to a bright shade of yellow, while the red markings on the bone fragments changed to either a light green or a deep blue. It did not take that much time for the body to completely change before the body glowed and exploded into a cloud of dust which gathered into a ball and shot towards the teen, with a smaller ball going for the sheath. Jaune merely held the ball in one hand, admiring the glow of the particles before clenching his fist to absorb the ball. Taking hold of the sheath, Jaune looked at the new symbol that finished etching itself onto it; a stylized Ursa mask just below the Beowulf mask design.

A new Grimm construct for him to use.

The sound of clapping broke his thoughts and drew his attention to a smiling Roman Torchwick.

"Bravo Jaune, Bravo. That was quite the show and best of all you have slayed the beast while impressing me at the same time, and that is something that many have trouble doing. As promised I will get you and your group into Vale."

"Glad to hear it," muttered Jaune, exhausted now that the adrenaline from the battle was leaving his body.

"Come now, you could use a drink. This lot will show your foxy friend and the old man back to your companions, but you and I have some terms to discuss." Roman declared with a smile that made Jaune looked at him with a sinking feeling in his chest. That sounded like there was no way it could end well, but he didn't have the energy to argue. "Oh, don't look at me that way. You're my favorite person today. You are going to love what I have to offer, and I give you my word, our earlier bargain will stand in good faith."

With that, Roman began the long and silent trek up to his private apartments with Jaune quietly tailing him while the White Fang cleared the rubble and moved his two companions back to the group. Jaune could tell he was dying to speak based on the constant furtive glances, but the man remained silent. Out of respect for Jaune's clear need to be quiet right now? Or perhaps an attempt to earn Jaune's good will?

Probably both, Jaune figured wryly. Roman clearly wanted something from him. He was playing a game with every word and every action in his movements. But that didn't mean he was up to something bad. Just that he was up to something.

It seemed to take hours when it was only eight minutes when they arrived at the apartment to which Roman unlocked the door and directed the teen to a rather old but still usable sofa where Jaune collapsed into gratefully. Roman pulled out several glasses from a drinks cabinet along with a bottle of water and a bottle of amber liquid, and poured the water into one glass to hand to Jaune while pouring the amber liquid into the others.

"Hydration is very important after a fight like that," replied Roman when looking at Jaune. "Almost as important as what's in these glasses," he added, holding up two tumblers full of amber liquid with a teasing grin.

"Thank you," said Jaune, surprised at the offer, downed the glass of water and accepting the second drink immediately afterwards.

"As I said before, I keep my bargains. You and your friends will all be flown to Vale. But you have put on quite the show down there, and that deserves a reward of equivalent status. I will admit to you, I was going to dump you by the docks with the food you brought in your wagons and a threat to keep quiet, but that seems a touch impolite now. Suitable for refugees and civilians perhaps, but you my friend are a higher class of person than that. Trained or not, you're a Hunter. And a damn good one."

"I grew up alone outside the kingdoms. All these years and I'm still alive. Go figure." muttered Jaune as he took a sip of the amber liquid.

"Indeed, indeed" Roman took a sip of his as he leaned back on the chair. "No formal training, just a will to survive… and the ability to summon Golden Grimm, my word. There aren't even stories about those as far as I can tell. You've found yourself in a realm beyond both myth and science."

"I had promised my parents I'd survive when the Grimm killed them. I wasn't strong enough on my own, so I had to learn on the outside, I had to learn… not to be alone... Until I was strong enough." said Jaune.

"You have the look of an orphan around you. That and the aura of a survivor. I imagine it's what drew those people to follow you, even though you're just a kid." Roman remarked with a complicated expression.

"I've not been a kid since I was ten years old, Torchwick." muttered Jaune.

"You've been fighting Grimm alone all those years?!" Roman let out a whistle of awe and appreciation. "Call me Roman, by the way. You must be, what, eighteen?"

"Seventeen," replied Jaune.

"Well now," Roman let out a pleased smirk, "That is very convenient. I was going to change your age to seventeen if you were any younger. You have impressed me big time Jaune, so much so I am going to do you a big one. I'm not just getting your people into Vale. Oh no, I am going to give them citizen-ships that you have rightfully earned for them. Full legal standing with all the benefits of the city. Nobody can throw them out the gates without getting into trouble with the law. All forged, of course, but the best forgeries around I can guarantee you. Farmers, cooks, shopkeepers, what old jobs they had in their old lives back home, I can give them back in Vale with a whole lot more."

"But I don't have a job to forge papers for myself," said Jaune wryly. "Least of all one that takes seventeen year old."

"Have you ever heard of Beacon?"

"Of course I have. What's your point?"

"The first years start at seventeen. I'm thinking you'd fit right in, not to mention better at a Huntsman academy than a textile factory. You've got no training, that is true, but you've got enough skill to beat most first years and the power to match some of the second years. I'd wager you'd be a top-notch Hunter by the time you get trained up properly and graduate." Roman gave that statement while taking a big gulp of his drink and letting out a content sigh.

Jaune frowned, and took a sip of his drink to consider what Roman said. "I still don't understand why you'd want to do that for me. That sounds difficult, not to mention expensive. And not part of our earlier deal."

"There it is again! You get how business works. You know the game, even if you don't know how to play it yet!" crowed Roman. "You are able to get this far over the years without proper training, I want to find out just how far you can go. You've piqued my interest and that does not happen very often. Call it a favor from a friend."

Jaune gave Roman a dubious look at that statement. "The type of favor that gets paid back?"

"What sort of friend doesn't return a favor?" Roman asked whimsically, raising his palms in the air.

"Debt is hardly friendship," shot back Jaune, to which Roman grinned mischievously.

"That's the thing kid. I'm not offering you a debt to be paid off, I'm offering you my friendship. I'll do you favors, you'll do me favors. No threats or obligation, just mutual gain for both of us. I could use a guy like you in my corner."

"I don't even know what your corner is," said Jaune.

"Neither do I, half the time," Roman let out a laugh at his own words. "But this is between you and me, not my employer and you." He held up his hands at this point. "So in this corner lies the White Fang. It is just business, not friendship. Maybe a few I can get along with, but that is about it." He waved one hand as he spoke before waving the other. "You and me though, that's something between us. Sending you to Beacon will make you better able to help me out. We both win."

"So in other words, you want somebody on your side, not your employer's side?" Jaune raised an eyebrow at that.

"That's the general gist." Roman nodded his agreement. "And on a personal note I am dying to know more about those Grimm creations of yours. What are they, some kind of kinetic Aura projection?"

"That or necromancy" said Jaune flatly.

"Ah, that would be a horror flick worthy performance, won't it?"

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Hello there, I am back with a new idea. This is actually based GrimmCatcher's [The Yellow Death], a story that I read and liked for its originality. It has been a long time since the author last wrote a chapter, and I had asked with a private message whether the story was up for adoption or abandoned. Considering it has been two-and-a-half years since I sent that message, I think it is safe to say that it may be abandoned, so I tried my hand at it. There will be a fair bit of similarities since I am basing my ideas on the story, but I have changed a few bits and tried to fix some of the spelling, and if I continue this, I will work to alter it further.

This is a rough concept, so please R-&-R. Let me know if you want more one-shot chapters of this or perhaps a full story.

And I put my pen down for now.


	8. Arc Identity

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

* * *

 **Date Published:** 6th Nov 2018

 **Title:** Arc Identity (Working Title)

 **Genre:** Spy AU, no Grimm.

 **Description:**

 _No summary for now._

0-0-0-0

Winter Schnee let out a tired sigh as she closed her door and made her way to the chair, setting her self down on it hard and letting the cushioning ease her aching body while she dipped her head on the headrest as she thought of the months she had that led to this day.

If someone had told her that she was going to be embroiled into a situation where the leaders of the four kingdoms were found conspiring to manipulate and remove the councils, that her general was a man who endorsed a spy recruitment programme that was monstrous in its implementation to the point of inhumanity, and that the famous Ozpin of Beacon would be a mastermind that had played everyone like a puppet-master would to his puppets, stringing them along until he would cut them off, she would have at the very least joked to have whatever drink that person would have, otherwise would send to a prison for spreading false rumours.

Yet it happened, and somehow she got out of that mess relatively unscathed, while her superiors were sent to the gallows for corruption and misuse of resources. General Ironwood was court-martial for the spy programme codenamed 'Tread-stone' and was now being interrogated for all the details and offshoots that came from it. Ozpin was currently under heavy investigations of his own after his actions of using his Huntsmen to do his dirty work, something the Vale Council was most furious and embarrassed as the news reporters descended on them like vultures to prey. Leo Lionheart was also under scrutiny for sending his Huntsmen all over Mistral to leave the main capital unprotected for the terrorist group 'White Fang' to attack and attempt accessing the ancient vaults for the valuables or to obtain valuable intelligence. Only the leader of Vacuo survived, and that was more of a fluke than anything as their culture was a case of survival of the fittest, and the person in charge apparently thought it was not worth getting into the mess.

For Winter, she was honestly thanking her lucky stars that she was not used as a scapegoat by the Atlas Council or the other superiors. The General, for all of his faults, made sure that she was well protected from the jackals after their positions and he made it very clear that she was merely following orders that were supposedly forged to bypass standard procedures, thus granting her deniability. Ozpin on the other hand had gained quite the reputation to use and discard Huntsmen for different tasks based on their investigations, the most famous being the death of the agent Summer Rose. From what she understood, Summer's old teammates were out for blood. It did not help that he did so with the intention to get rid of an old adversary of his, Salem who led the terror spy group called Grimm and had her hands in many of the highest levels of councils and in some of the big names of Dust corporations or securities.

And to think this entire mess would have stayed hidden if not for a certain agent that was born from the Tread-Stone programme and sorted after by Ozpin and the other leaders…

Her thoughts got broken by the sound of the phone ringing. Lightly groaning about the interruption, she grabbed the phone and pressed the button as she raised her hand to rub her eyes. "Winter Schnee."

" _I heard you are still looking for me."_

Her hand stopped moving and her eyes went wide as she sat up straight, all the body aches forgotten as the voice of a certain person she was thinking of filtered through the phone. "Arc?" She asked cautiously, partly thinking this was a hallucination brought about from the long nights without sleep. "Jaune Arc?"

" _What do you want?"_

' _Yup, definitely him all right.'_ She thought privately. He was quite blunt at times when he wanted information.

"I… I wanted to thank you… for the recordings and the documents." Winter answered as she looked at the safe in the corner of the office where copies of the recordings, classified documents, testimonials, list of deals involving corrupt officials and politicians, and even death certificates of known Huntsmen laid inside. She had no idea how Arc was able to get them at all but it was practically the smoking gun that not only took down the spy organizations of the four kingdoms, but also the White Fang and the Grimm terror group. "We got what we needed. It is all tied off now. It's over." She leaned back while a small smirk appeared on her face. "I also wanted to thank you for saving my sister. She too is very grateful for it."

Boy, was that an understatement? Weiss was normally aloof due to their father's influence, but after Jaune had saved her from the kidnapping and assassination attempts led by an agent codenamed Neptune, the girl seemed quite determined to find the blond and thanked him in person, supposedly with a gala and a private dinner. Winter could not recall the last time Weiss was ever this interested in a male at all.

Although she would wish her sister good luck as Weiss would likely be facing stiff competition in the other kingdoms; Pyrhha Nikos, the top agent of Mistral who had apparently tangled with Jaune Arc a few times that she wished to get him for her group; Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ambassador Ghira who leads the Faunus Rights group and someone Jaune rescued in the past; Yang Xiao Long, a rather bombastic woman who served as one of the agents of Vale; a foursome of assassins who go by the moniker 'NDGO' and known for their seduction techniques. And that was not including the underground network where there were a pair of twins working for the mafia, one known assassin codenamed 'Neapolitan' and supposedly the top agent of Grimm named Cinder Fall after him for their own reasons.

That man was rather popular with the ladies for a spy just trying to get back his lost memories.

"I guess in all though, I owed you an apology for the crap we put you through." Winter continued as she thought of the chases and hunting involved for him. He did not make it easy for the them and it took only the best to track him down enough to force him to be serious, and that usually ended badly for them. Qrow, much to her secret pleasure, was thwarted a few times they clashed and it took Taiyang Xiao Long and Raven Branwen to force Jaune to escape, not without forcing their hands. There were casualties and collateral damage, not to mention the entire news network blasting his face for whatever crimes dug up for their use.

" _I see..."_ Jaune paused on the phone before continuing. _"Is it official?"_

"No. Off the record, you know how it is." Winter winced at that admission. It kind of galled her that for all the risks he took to expose the truth and to find out his past, the governments did not want to admit their mistakes and used him as the convenient scapegoat for their messes. For Atlas, they were considering giving him some leeway since he was the product of their programme, but the councilmen were stalling for new developments. The other kingdoms could care less about it since he exposed all their dirty laundry and the skeletons in many of the top politicians or Ozpin himself.

" _Very well then. Goodbye..."_

"Wait!" The woman grabbed a folder that had been on the desk from the near beginning of the investigations and flipped it open to look through the pages. It took some time and a fair amount of leverage to pressure the staff into getting her this document, but it was worth it to get into the mind of the agent, and right now Winter felt he needed to know about this. Finding the page she wanted, Winter took a deep breath and started to read out the information.

"Miles Luna Shimono. That is your real name." Winter looked at the photo that showed a younger Jaune Arc just before his induction into the programme. "You were born in Mistral on the third day of the fifth month in the year 1999 RAD, but moved to Atlas within five months. You have three sisters, one of whom is younger by five years. Your father was an Atlantean while your mother was Mistralian." There was more but these were the highlights that he would likely be wanting to know, if only to ease his burden. "There is more to it. Why don't you come in and we'll talk about it?"

"..."

The silence that came after grew longer and Winter had to wonder if Jaune had perhaps hung up at this point. "Jaune?"

"… _Get some rest Winter. You are looking tired." 'Click!'_

The tone indicating disconnection sounded through it, but Winter ignored it as she turned to face the window, noting the different buildings that were near her office and the number of windows facing hers with the numerous blind-spots. There was only one thought that rang through her head.

' _Son of a bitch!'_

Down in the streets of Atlas, a certain blond-haired young man walked out of the office building and walked through the crowd that lined the roads, effortlessly walking through gaps in a manner that would prevent others from following him without making a big scene of it. He paused for a moment to grab a newspaper at a stand that had the radio playing some music, one of which had tickled him in a manner that made him put on his shades and disappeared through the crowd silently as the lyrics came on.

" **Extreme ways are back again** **  
** **Extreme places I didn't know** **  
** **I broke everything new again** **  
** **Everything that I'd owned** **  
** **I threw it out the windows, came along** **  
** **Extreme ways I know move apart  
The colors of my sea** **  
** **Perfect color me"**


End file.
